Employment Law

The employment relationship is governed by a significant number of state and federal laws, most of which are designed to ensure that employers treat their employees fairly.  The attorneys at Dobson, Goldberg, Moreland & Berns have a thorough understanding of these laws and are dedicated to representing employees in a wide variety of disputes arising out of the employment relationship.  Our unwavering commitment to employee rights is reflected in the passion and resolve with which we represent our clients.  From advising employees about their rights to litigating cases against both large and small companies, our experienced attorneys are able to help employees who feel that they have been wrongfully treated by their employers.

Our attorneys litigate individual claims, as well as class actions and collective actions.  We have obtained numerous verdicts and settlements on behalf of employees in both state and federal courts.  Some of the specific areas of employment law in which we represent employees include the following:

Discrimination

Federal and state laws prohibit employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, pregnancy or disability.  These laws include:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Age Discrimination in Employment Act
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Equal Pay Act
• Missouri Human Rights Act

Discrimination is prohibited in all aspects of the employment relationship, including hiring, firing, compensation, job assignments, promotions, demotions, and discipline.

In most cases, employees cannot file a lawsuit based on unlawful discrimination unless they first file a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or an affiliated state agency, such as the Missouri Commission on Human Rights.  Because there are strict time limits for filing charges of discrimination, employees who believe that they have been discriminated against by their employers should seek prompt legal advice.  Our attorneys are available on a daily basis to answer questions that employees have about their rights and to help employees pursue their discrimination claims.    

Harassment

Harassment is a specific form of discrimination that is prohibited by federal and state laws.  For harassment to be illegal, it must be based on an employee’s race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability.  In addition, the harassment must be unwelcome and it must reach a certain threshold before it will violate the law.  Harassment that is particularly severe or that continues over an extended period of time will generally be sufficient to reach the required threshold. 

Sexual harassment is the most common form of harassment in the workplace and can take many forms.  Examples of sexual harassment include sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and inappropriate physical contact.  Sexual harassment, however, does not have to be explicitly sexual to violate the law.  Acts of physical aggression or violence and incidents of verbal abuse that are directed toward an employee because of his or her gender may also constitute illegal sexual harassment.  

Whether an employer may be held liable for harassment depends upon whether the harassment was committed by a supervisor or a co-worker.  When an employee is harassed by a co-worker, the employer cannot be held liable for the harassment unless the employer knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take prompt action to stop it from occurring.  When an employee is harassed by a supervisor, however, the employer can be held automatically liable for the harassment unless it can prove that it exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any harassing behavior, and that the employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the employer.  When harassment by a supervisor culminates in an adverse employment action against an employee, such as a termination or promotion denial, the employer can be held automatically liable for both the harassment and the adverse employment action.

Retaliation and Whistleblowing

Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who engage in certain activities, such as complaining about violations of their rights, participating in legal proceedings against their employers, reporting illegal conduct by their employers, or refusing to perform illegal acts.  An employer cannot discipline, fire, or take any other adverse employment action against an employee simply for engaging in one of these activities.

An employee who complains about his or her employer’s illegal conduct is protected from retaliation even if it turns out that the employer’s conduct was not actually illegal, as long as the employee reasonably believed that the employer’s conduct violated the law.  Similarly, an employer cannot retaliate against an employee for refusing to perform what the employee reasonably believed to be illegal conduct, even if the conduct was not actually illegal.

Family and Medical Leave

Employers with 50 or more employees and public agencies are required to comply with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which is a federal law that allows eligible employees to take up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave per year because of the birth or adoption of a child, to care for a spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition, or because of a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform his or her job.  To be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee must have worked for his or her employer for at least a year and must have worked at least 1,250 hours in the twelve months before the leave began.

FMLA leave may be taken all at once, or it may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule, depending upon the reason for the leave.  Although the FMLA provides only the right to take unpaid leave, employees may be able to substitute paid leave, such as sick leave or vacation time, for unpaid FMLA leave.  In some cases, an employer may require an employee to use accrued sick leave or vacation time in place of unpaid FMLA leave.   

Employees may be required to support their need for FMLA leave with documentation from their health care providers.  In some cases, an employer may also require that an employee who needs FMLA leave because of his or her own serious health condition be evaluated by a health care provider selected by the employer.

Employers cannot use the taking of FMLA leave as a negative factor in employment actions, such as hiring, promotions, or disciplinary actions.  The FMLA also prohibits employers from counting FMLA leave under “no fault” attendance policies.

Except in limited circumstances, an employee who takes FMLA leave is entitled to be reinstated to the job that he or she held at the time the leave began, or to a job with equivalent employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment.  Employers are also required to maintain group health insurance coverage for employees who are on FMLA leave.  

 Breach of Contract

Employees and employers sometimes enter into contracts that contain specific durations of employment.  Breach of contract claims often result when an employer fires an employee prior to the end of the contract’s duration.  In such cases, the employee may be entitled to compensation for the amount of time remaining on the contract.  Our attorneys are available to review employment contracts and provide advice regarding possible breach of contract claims.

Severance Agreements

Employers occasionally offer severance pay to employees who have been fired.  In most cases, the employer requires the employee to agree not to sue the employer for anything that occurred during the employment relationship.  As a result, it is important to have an attorney review the severance agreement to ensure that it is fair to the employee and that the employee does not unknowingly agree to give up valuable rights.  Our attorneys have experience negotiating severance packages for discharged employees, including high-level executives and professionals.

If you would like to learn more about your rights as an employee or if you believe that your rights have been violated, please feel free to contact us for more information.