Nashville Employment Lawyer Representing Workers

Wrongful termination means you were fired in violation of a legal right. Although Tennessee is an at-will employment state, many exceptions exist to the at-will employment doctrine. Common examples of wrongful termination include being retaliated against for opposing an unlawful practice (such as discrimination) or asserting other legal rights. You need an employment law litigator who knows federal and state laws and who has the experience needed to get you the compensation you deserve.

You deserve a fair and equal workplace free of discrimination. Unlawful workplace discrimination happens all the time. Fortunately, the law is on your side. The law prohibits a company from making employment decisions because an employee has a protected characteristic or asserted his or her legal rights.

Protected classes and characteristics in Tennessee include:

• Race
• Color
• Sex (pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity)
• Disability
• National origin
• Religion
• Age (40 and up)

Nashville-based employment attorney Curt Masker fights for victims of unlawful workplace discrimination. If you have suffered workplace harassment or discipline based on one or more of these protected classes, then you may be the victim of unlawful discrimination. For example, an African American worker being called the “n-word” or “boy” may create legal liability for the employer, since companies are responsible for the actions of their managers, employees, and agents. Workers who suffer such discrimination can seek monetary relief, such as back pay, front pay, emotional distress damages, punitive damages, and reinstatement. Know your legal rights by contacting an employment and labor law attorney.

A hostile work environment is a workplace that is permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim’s employment and create an abusive work environment. This type of harassment is a form of employment discrimination. You need an employment law advocate dedicated to fighting against abusive employment practices by holding employers accountable in a court of law.

In the legal sense, a workplace must be “abusive” to be a hostile work environment. To be “abusive,” the offensive conduct must be severe or pervasive and the work environment must be objectively and subjectively offensive. Factors that courts use to evaluate whether or not a work environment was abusive include “the frequency of the discriminatory conduct; its severity; whether it is physically threatening or humiliating, or a mere offensive utterance; and whether it unreasonably interferes with an employee’s performance. Ladd v. Grand Trunk W. R.R., Inc., 552 F.3d 495, 496 (6th Cir. 2009).

A hostile work environment is prohibited by both Tennessee and federal employment law. Employees who suffer from such an abusive environment can seek monetary and equitable relief, including back pay, front pay, emotional distress damages, punitive damages, and reinstatement.

Enduring sexual harassment at work can be traumatic and devastating, but you do not have to tolerate being objectified and humiliated at work for the sake of “not rocking the boat” or keeping your job. You need a lawyer in your corner who you trust and who can take the fight to the company and the harasser.

Federal and Tennessee laws make it unlawful for employers to discriminate against any individual on the basis of sex. Sexual harassment is one of the most common and difficult employment situations to navigate, especially when the harasser is your boss. You want to report the misconduct but you are afraid of being fired or otherwise retaliated against. You need to know what actions to take to stop the harassment while protecting your job and legal rights. Nashville-based labor and employment lawyer Curt Masker is a relentless advocate for victims of workplace harassment.

Sexual harassment often includes one or more of the following types of unwelcome behavior by a supervisor or co-worker:

• Physical touching
• Frequent comments about your appearance/attractiveness
• Sexually explicit text messages or e-mails
• Sexual “jokes” or innuendos
• Persistent leering or staring
• Displaying sexual materials
• Solicitation of explicit pictures
• Repeated requests for a romantic date

Sexual harassment claims fall under one or more of the following claims:

Quid pro quo (“this for that”) sexual harassment occurs when your employment is conditioned on your submission to unwelcome sexual advances. In other words, your boss attempts to get sexual favors in exchange for your job advancement. If you do not submit, your career suffers.

Hostile work environment sexual harassment occurs when an employee is subjected to unwelcome sexual advances, touching, or crude sexual language that is so severe and pervasive that a reasonable person in your position would consider your work environment intimidating, hostile, or abusive. Employment laws are on your side. Under the law, an employer is automatically liable for harassment by a supervisor that results in a negative employment action such as termination, demotion, or denial of a pay raise.

If you are being or have been subjected to unwelcome sexual overtures, touching or comments at work from your boss or a coworker, your legal rights are likely being violated. Do not wait to contact labor and employment attorney Curt Masker. In Tennessee, you may have as little as 300 days to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Doing what’s right takes courage. You want to report wrongdoing but you’re afraid of losing your job. Retaliation is the most common form of wrongful termination. Several employment laws protect employees from retaliation after they have engaged in protected activity.

Common examples of protected activity include:

• Opposing unlawful discrimination or harassment
• Opposing wage and hour violations
• Reporting violations of the False Claims Act
• Reporting Workplace Safety Violations
• Requesting or taking protected medical or military leave
• Filing a worker’s compensation claim

If you were fired, demoted, or suffered another adverse action after you spoke out against what you believed was unlawful conduct by your employer, then you may be the victim of unlawful workplace retaliation.

Life is unpredictable and medical emergencies happen. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides employees with job-protected leave so they can seek treatment or tend to a sick loved one without risking their job. If you have been discriminated against or denied rights or benefits related to medical leave, your legal rights may have been violated. Nashville-based FMLA lawyer Curt Masker is dedicated to seeking the maximum compensation possible for victims of FMLA discrimination.

Under the law, an employee may take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, protected employment leave in a given 12-month period for any of the following reasons:

• A serious health condition makes you unable to perform the functions of your job
• Birth of a child and to bond with the newborn child within one year of birth
• To care for and to bond with an adopted child within one year of placement
• To care for your spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition
• Military leave exigencies such as changing child care arrangements, attending military ceremonies and events, spending time with a military member on Rest and Recuperation leave during deployment, etc.

Covered employers: The FMLA covers private employers with 50 or more employees. Public employers are covered under the law regardless of the number of employees.

Covered employees: For you to be covered by the FMLA, your employer must employ at least 50 employees at your worksite or at multiple locations located within 75 miles of your worksite. Also, you must have worked for your employer for 12 months (non-continuous) and worked at least 1,250 hours (about 24 hours per week, on average) within the preceding 12 months to be eligible for FMLA leave.

Claims under the FMLA include:

• Interference – Employer tries to stop or discourage you from taking or trying to take FMLA leave
• Retaliation – Employer fires or discriminates against you for exercising your FMLA rights

USERRA provides robust employment and worker protections for our nation’s servicemembers who answer the call to serve. Under USERRA, civilian job rights and benefits for are protected under the “escalator principle,” which requires military members to be reemployed in the job they would have attained had they not been called to serve. In other words, if you would have been promoted but for your service, you are entitled to be reinstated to the promoted position upon your return. This includes the same seniority, status, and pay as well as other rights and benefits. In addition, an employer cannot retaliate against a servicemember for asserting his or her rights under USERRA. You need a labor lawyer serving Nashville on your side.

Likewise, Tennessee law protects members of the Tennessee National Guard who are called to serve, e.g., for drill weekends, annual training, and mobilization by the Governor during a state emergency.

Your employer has been presented you with a Severance Package. In addition to the fear and uncertainty of being terminated from your job, you now have mere days to figure out what to do. You are happy about the prospect of severance pay, but should you ask for more? What employment law claims and legal rights are you giving up? You need answers fast. Call today to speak with a Nashville Severance Package Attorney.

Doing what’s right takes courage. Retaliation is a very real concern for employees who wish to speak out against a company’s fraudulent medical billing practices. Do not be discouraged. Learn your legal rights by calling an employment lawyer today.

Filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a required first step for many discrimination and harassment claims in Tennessee. Employment law litigator Curt Masker represents workers at the EEOC in many cases on a contingency fee basis. Your employer has a team of employment law specialists representing its interests at the EEOC – you need to protect yourself by hiring an attorney and leveling the playing field.

If you have been the victim of workplace discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, we may be able to help you. Contact Nashville-based labor and employment attorney Curt Masker for your Free Attorney Consultation at 866-931-0146 or online.