When Should Employees Hire Employment Lawyers?
Too many employers take advantage of their employees. Whether they are failing to pay them in a timely manner (or at all), engaging in sexual harassment, or discriminating against their employees, employers of all sizes have been held accountable in a court of law.
The following are the situations in which an employee should contact an employment lawyer:
- You have endured harassment, discrimination, or retaliation by your employer.
- You have been terminated, fired, or let go in a way that could be a violation of wrongful termination laws.
- You are being pressured to give up your rights by signing an agreement.
- You are not being paid wages that your employer agreed to pay.
- You suspect other states or federal laws have been broken.
The sooner you call employment following the above situations the better. If you are more comfortable speaking to certain types of employment lawyers, seek them out (Like a Spanish lawyer). If you wait too long, it will be very difficult to secure the evidence needed to prove your employer violated your rights.
When Should I Hire an Employment Lawyer If I am the Employer?
Employers need employment attorneys because of the complexities of business laws. The percentage of people that grasp employment laws at a high level is small. Employment lawyers have unique expertise and can help employers in ways that they wouldn’t even know are possible.
Employers should contact an attorney in any one of the following situations:
- You are engaging in a collective bargaining agreement.
- You are being sued for discrimination or retaliation.
- An employee has brought a cause of action against your business.
- You plan to layoff or fire a large number of employees, terminate an employee benefit, or change the current pension plan you are offering.
- You are planning to let go of a lot of employees at one, remove an employee benefit, or make changes to your employee pension fund.
To expect a business owner to handle these complex legal actions is not reasonable. An employment lawyer can explain everything and take care of it for you according to the laws in your state.
Do Employment Lawyers Cost a Lot?
Whether you are an employer or an employee, the cost of hiring an employment lawyer is going to be specific to every situation. For employees, lawyers usually charge a contingency fee. However, there are three different rate types that an employment lawyer may require: Contingency, Flat, and Hourly.
1. Hourly Rates:
Hourly rates are exactly how they sound: attorneys charge you for how much time they spend on your case. As mentioned earlier, each individual case will require a different amount of hours from your attorney, hence, different charges.
2. Contingency fees:
An attorney takes a percentage of the amount you receive in your case. This makes sense for cases in which an employee is wronged, they will receive a settlement or jury verdict as compensation for their employers’ violations. For employers, hourly rates are common.
3. Flat Fees:
If you’re an employer looking for an attorney to handle a simple matter for you, you’re likely to be charged a flat fee. This is when you agree to a total price up-front.
Settlements and Verdict Attorney Costs
When an employment lawyer charges contingency fees, you agree to a percentage that your attorney will receive once you receive a settlement or jury verdict. When your employment lawyer takes their “cut” from what you receive, you’ll wish you negotiated the lowest amount possible. What many don’t realize is that there is a different percentage for those that settle and those that go to trial. This is because going to trial requires much more from your attorneys.
Kingsley and Kingsley Lawyers charge 33.33% for a settlement and 45% for a jury verdict. This is in line with most attorneys. So, you need to calculate how much that is before you accept a settlement or decide to go to trial.
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