Oklahoma Employment Attorney

Oklahoma Workers Rights

What You Need To Know

• Not all discrimination is the same

  Workplace discrimination has a negative connotation – and legal consequences – but not all discrimination is illegal. In fact, we discriminate every day. Employers may chose employees with the best educational credentials or not. Employers may chose to hire someone with particular experience, or prefer less experienced workers.

  Discrimination is unlawful when it handicaps members of protected groups – called “classes” – under either local, state or federal laws. Those classes usually include color, race, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), age (40 or older), disability or genetic information (including family medical history).

• Fair labor rules don’t apply to all companies the same

  Some laws, such as those for overtime pay or discrimination laws, apply to most companies. Other laws, like the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) only apply to companies with a minimum number of local employees. That means you might have more protection for medical leave at a big-box chain store than you might have with a small employer.

  Federal Equal Employment Opportunity laws apply to companies with 15 more employees — except age discrimination rules apply to companies with 20 or more employees. FMLA typically covers private employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles of a person’s worksite.

• Employers with federal contracts may be held to a higher standard
  

  The Davis-Bacon Act and other federal laws establish wage requirements of companies that provide services to the federal government. If your employer services federal contracts, you may be entitled to be paid the rate established by law.

• Public employers must follow the same rules… and more
  

  Workers at public agencies like schools, universities, administrative agencies, public safety agencies or most other non-military public employers have the same civil rights as workers at private companies. Those agencies also sometimes have internal policies or remedies to address discrimination, harassment or other workplace problems.

  Administrators at public agencies may try to divert discrimination complaints into internal processes until the clock runs out on deadlines to file legal complaints. To hold public agencies accountable for job discrimination requires legal action. Contact an Oklahoma labor law attorney now to discover your rights and find out what remedies might be available to you.

• Deadlines Apply
  

  To be heard, discrimination complaints must be filed within prescribed deadlines. In some cases, employees might be directed toward internal resolution processes, or denied information about how to file a complain until it’s too late. If you are a victim of discrimination, harassment or unfair practices in the workplace, contact an Oklahoma employment attorney as soon as possible to discover what options are available, and how long you have to take action.

• The first step is up to you

  We often hear news reports of civic-minded charities taking on big employers to score big wins for mistreated employees. We don’t nearly as often hear of the many more cases that involve individual workers or isolated workplaces. The high-profile cases might be started by heroic advocates with a mission, but the day-to-day complaints that hold employers accountable typically start with average workers who stand their ground.

  The first step is up to you but as an Oklahoma workers rights attorney, my mission is to guide you every step of the way. Once you take the important first step of discovering whether you are the victim of illegal discrimination or other workplace misconduct, I take it from there. You’ll just need to tell your story. If you experienced unlawful discrimination, I can turn your story into a compelling plea to the appropriate authority.

• Your WIN can make work better for others

  When I represent you in a workers rights case, my primary mission is to get you the justice you deserve. But when we win a case, your win can help others. Enforcing fair labor laws puts employers on notice that they must comply. If an employer refuses to change even after being cited for unfair labor practices, your victory can be a lighthouse to show the way for other workers suffering similar workplace discrimination, harassment or wage theft.

Start Your No-Cost Consultation Now

Discrimination can sometimes be so egregious an employee knows it’s wrong but they don’t know what to do about it. Other forms of discrimination may be subtle. Harassment may be masked as work-related demands. Many employees can’t afford the luxury of hiring an attorney only to find out their employer’s poor workplace management does not constitute illegal discrimination.

I want to make my service available to all potential victims of workplace discrimination — including those with extra income and those scrimping to make ends meet. For that reason, I don’t ask for any payment until we’ve discovered — together — whether there is something I can do for you.

To get started, call, text or email me today. Use the contact button on this page to send email. Call me at (405) 896-6748.