26 Sep Employment Law 101: How to Win a Lawsuit Against Your Employer

Employment law covers the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of the relationship between the employer and employee. You’re not sure how to win a lawsuit against your employer though. It’s not like you’ve ever had to do it.

You really want to like your new job but one of your co-workers is making it hard. They keep making advances on you. You tell them you’re married and even flash them your ring at one point but it doesn’t stop them.

You decide to talk to your supervisor about it. They promise to get the situation resolved but weeks go by with no results and the harassment is getting worse. So, you talk to HR about it. Still nothing improves. You may have a case to sue your employer for not taking the action that they promised.

Keep reading to see a few pointers that will help you win.

Steps to Take to Sue

The biggest problem with suing your employer is that it can be quite difficult to prove they did anything wrong. The good news is that most debates like this can be settled before it goes as far as going to court. If it doesn’t though, here are the steps you’ll need to take.

Talk it Out

If you want to avoid your case going to court then the best way to do that is to talk to your supervisor or go to HR. If either of these parties refuses to offer a solution then you can start thinking about a lawsuit.

Review Your Contract

Before you go forward you should read over your employee contract. There may be a special clause that says you have to settle any workplace issues via a grievance procedure.

Document Everything

One of the biggest reasons why these lawsuits fail is that the employee didn’t gather the proper amount of documentation to support their claim. If you’re being harassed in any way, you’ll want to record anything that is said or done to you.

Create an accurate timeline of the events leading up to your lawsuit. If there have been any emails sent to you or by you regarding the incident, make sure that you save them. Speak to your co-workers and see if any of them witnessed the events that happened to you.

Determine Your Claim

There are several different claims that your case could fall under. For example, if a co-worker or supervisor is discriminating against you based on the color of your skin or sexual orientation that’s discrimination. If someone is speaking to you or touching you in an inappropriate way, that’s sexual harassment.

If your employer doesn’t pay you what they promised, that falls under a wage dispute. Use the evidence that you’ve gathered to help you decide what category your case falls under.

Come Up with a Resolution

What resolution you decide on will depend on what claim you’re making. The compensation that an employee gets varies depending on the damage that has been done to them.

Get Familiar With Any Laws Surrounding Your Claim

Do you know what court you need to file your claim in? This is something that you’ll have to figure out in order to successfully sue your employer.

There may be special federal and state laws that surround your claim. You’ll need to do a heavy amount of research to find out.

Find A Lawyer

Now that you’ve gathered all your information, talked to witnesses, and figured out what kind of claim you want to make, you can take your story to a lawyer. They can tell you what direction you can go in and lead you through the entire process.

What to Expect

If you do decide to go through with your lawsuit, it may not go as smoothly as you would like for it to go. Here are a few scenarios that you should be ready for.

The Employer isn’t Afraid of a Lawsuit

Your lawsuit is most likely not the only one that your employer has had to deal with. If this is the case, then going through with your lawsuit may backfire on you because your employer will be prepared to handle it.

They may try to terminate you before your lawsuit goes to court. This is usually against the law but if they’ve had to deal with cases like yours in the past, chances are they will know a legal way around it.

Nothing will Change

If you’re filing a lawsuit, your goals are most likely to stop the behavior from happening and to get policies changed. You don’t want to continue to suffer or potentially watch another employee suffer.

The sad truth is, that even if you get your compensation and win, there is a good chance that nothing will change.

Do You Really Need a Lawyer?

Chances are your employer will have an experienced lawyer on their side. You should have one too. Filing a lawsuit against a company can be a complicated and long process.

It helps to have someone on your side who knows the ins and outs of these types of cases. It will also be really hard to win your case if you try to represent yourself.

How to Win a Lawsuit Against Your Employer

Are you being mistreated at work but you’re not sure how to win a lawsuit against your employer? Winning can be a long and complicated road but if you know the steps to take along it, you should come out victorious.

So take a deep breath, gather your evidence, and go speak to a lawyer. If you don’t, you may have to watch a fellow co-worker suffer from the same problem you’re going through.

Are you still looking for a lawyer help you with your lawsuit against your employer? Call now for a free, expert consultation!