Your team of skilled workers is essential to your company’s profitability and long-term success, but some employees may create problems for you in different ways. Everything from a complaint about an unfair dismissal to issues related to family or medical leave could develop, and these issues could become a liability expense that your company must face. Hiring an employment lawyer is a great option to consider when you are dealing with these four issues or if you have other related concerns.
1. Determining When You Can Legally Terminate Someone
One of the most common issues that companies face related to employment law in Canada and other areas of the world relates to unfair dismissal or wrongful termination. Discrimination in the workplace is a serious issue, and it could potentially lead to tremendous expenses for your company to endure. You may be able to consult with an employment lawyer before terminating an employee to determine if this type of workplace issue will affect you based on the specific factors related to your company. You may need to take specific steps to remove an employee in a legal manner, and your attorney can provide you with more information about the steps you need to take.
2. Understanding Your Rights with a Discrimination Lawsuit
Discrimination complaints are also common workplace issues. These may involve discrimination based on age, gender, race or other factors. Such issues could create huge public relations issues for your company as well as liability expenses. This could affect sales and profits for years to come, so you must handle these issues carefully. If you have received a discrimination complaint from an employee or a customer, consider hiring an employment lawyer to handle the legal aspects of this case.
3. Dealing with Family and Medical Leave Issues
Many companies must comply with federal laws regarding family and medical leave requests, and this includes pregnancy-related leave with new parents. Your employees may be aware of their work rights, but some of your workers may be confused about their rights in unique situations. You may be having trouble getting employees to work because of these types of issues, or you may even want to terminate someone for not following your rules in this area. Consulting with a lawyer before you act can help you to stay out of hot water while also protecting your own rights as an employer.
4. Handling Serious Complaints or Developing Issues
There are many other types of serious issues and complaints that your business may run into over the years. For example, other workplace issues include on-the-job injuries, dealing with labor unions, complaints about unfair or unpaid wages and more. If your company is dealing with these or other serious issues, you may face legal challenges and burdensome expenses. Because of this, you need proper legal representation so that you understand your rights and minimize the financial impact of this matter on your business. A lawyer may consult with you about your options, and he or she may also fight for your rights under the law if the matter escalates.
Work rights and workplace issues are serious matters for any business, and you need all of the help that you can get to understand your options and to defend your position in these cases. Consulting with an attorney who specializes in the area of employment law before a matter develops is a great way to potentially avoid stressful and expensive issues, but you can also consult with a reputable attorney after an issue develops to explore possible legal options to get out of a sticky situation gracefully. For those of you interested in learning more, there are more resources to be found on the Whitten & Lublin website.
