Believing that your employer or coworkers have discriminated against you can cause you to feel vulnerable and unsafe, even outside of the workplace. It’s normal to feel stressed and upset and to consider taking legal action. Still, you might be wary of a legal battle and wondering if you need an employment discrimination lawyer for your case.
If you suspect that you’ve been the target of discrimination in your workplace, the best thing you can do for yourself is to speak to a lawyer. They will be a huge asset to you and is essential for you to receive justice for your experiences.
What Does a Discrimination Lawyer Do?
An Employer Discrimination Lawyer Can Determine if You Did Experience Discrimination
Not all unfair treatment in the workplace is discrimination. Some managers and supervisors may be rude without being discriminatory. To be a victim of employment discrimination, it must be based on your status as a member of a protected class under federal or state anti-discriminatory laws that prohibit unfair treatment based on race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and age.
In some cases, you might not be sure whether or not the behaviors or actions you experience are considered discrimination. Discrimination doesn’t always occur as obviously as some might expect, so you could be questioning if legal action is warranted to begin with. Additionally, you must be able to prove that your employer took adverse action–termination, demotion, or paying you lower wages–due to your status as a member of a protected class.
Just because you aren’t sure about what may or may not be considered discrimination doesn’t mean you shouldn’t contact an employment discrimination lawyer.
In fact, speaking with an attorney can be especially beneficial for situations like this. They will have in-depth knowledge regarding what actions and behaviors are discriminatory and will assess your situation to determine whether or not you have a case. In the event that you did experience discrimination, you want to know for sure so that you can do something about it.
An Employment Discrimination Lawyer Will Establish Your Options
Employment discrimination lawyers will lay out your options on how you want to respond to your situation. These may range from filing a complaint with a state or federal agency such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to pursuing an extended court battle. A reputable attorney will define the pros and cons of each course of action, so you have all the information you need to make your decision.
You Will Be Able to Stand Up Against Your Opponents
Employment discrimination lawsuits are complex and difficult to prove. Hence, you’ll want every advantage you can get on your side. It’s in your best interest to hire a lawyer for your employment discrimination case early on, to start working on your case immediately.
What Compensation Do You Deserve?
Lawyers for Employee Discrimination Help You Understand What Compensation You Deserve
The purpose of a discrimination lawsuit isn’t only to hold the guilty party accountable – you also deserve to be compensated for the damages discriminatory behaviors and actions have caused you. You might know that you can receive compensation in a discrimination case, but you might not be sure of how much your case is worth. There are various types of compensation that one can receive, and not everyone will experience the same damages or damages of the same extent. You deserve compensation that reflects the damages that occurred, and an attorney can tell you what that is. As your lawyer reviews your case, they can assess the damages you faced and determine what amount of compensation will be adequate.
How Do Employment Discrimination Attorneys Help Workers?
Your Lawyer Will Take on the Difficult Work
You don’t want to risk having any issues while completing paperwork and meeting deadlines for your case. Employment discrimination lawyers know the hard work that goes into these cases and can take it on so that you don’t have to.
If you believe you’ve been discriminated against, you don’t have forever to file a lawsuit, and you don’t want to miss your opportunity to get justice. The New York City Human Rights Law requires that employees file a complaint within one year of the last alleged act of discrimination and three years if the discrimination was gender-based, such as sexual harassment. A lawyer understands what deadlines you’ll be required to meet and ensure everything is completed on time.
In addition to important deadlines, an employment discrimination lawyer will also make certain that any forms and documents you’ll need are filled out properly. This can sometimes be complicated, and you don’t want to risk making any errors that can jeopardize your case.
The legal process can be extremely complicated, and you have likely never had to deal with legal matters before, whereas a lawyer has the experience you need. Your lawyer will be with you throughout this process to ensure things are handled correctly and that you’re doing everything possible to receive a positive outcome.
Experienced Lawyers Know the Evidence You Need
If you want a higher chance of winning your case, you’ll need evidence proving that you suffered due to discrimination in the workplace. While you might know evidence will be required, you might not know exactly what that entails. Gathering evidence can be a difficult task, especially when you don’t know what types of evidence you’ll need or how to access all of it.
Fortunately, this is something a lawyer for employment discrimination will help you with so that you can show that you experienced discrimination and suffered damages due to it. An employer discrimination lawyer knows what type of evidence these cases require and how to obtain it if you don’t already have access to it.
An Attorney Can Provide You with Closure
Your employment discrimination attorney can help you move on from the ugly experience you had with your employer. This may come through a positive outcome during the trial, but will most likely happen during the settlement process. This will allow you to finally transition into a new career path, both emotionally and financially. Your employer discrimination lawyer will walk with you and make sure you’re ready to get to that next stage.
Consult with an Employment Discrimination Lawyer Today
There are many benefits of having an employment lawyer represent you. If you’ve experienced any type of discrimination, you deserve to get justice, and your best chance at doing this is by working with a lawyer who understands what your case needs and will provide the support that can get you through this process.
At Brown Kwon & Lam, we help employees in New York who have been discriminated against at work. Contact us today to speak with an employment discrimination lawyer in New York City to learn more about how we can help.