Lawyer’s Help in Winning Labor Hearings

Labor hearings are usually conducted in order to resolve conflicts that may arise in the workplace. It is a legal proceeding wherein a specific issue is tried and pieces of evidence are presented to help in determining the issue.

Employees who feel that they are being unjustly treated in their company can seek legal representation from employment lawyers. These professionals will represent employees in labor hearings concerning different cases such as:

Wrongful termination

A wrongful termination happens when an employee was laid off in violation of his or her legal right. It is also referred to as illegal discharge, wrongful discharge, wrongful dismissal, or illegal termination.

Discrimination

Employment discrimination happens when employees or job applicants are unjustly singled out by employers either because of their disability, age, religion, pregnancy, race/color, or national origin.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on the mentioned traits. This act covers labor organizations, employment agencies, and the federal government.

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), job applicants or employees cannot be discriminated in any area of employment including:

• Promotions, transfers, and layoffs
• Hiring
• Termination
• Disability leave
• Job advertisements and recruitment
• Perks and benefits
• Retirement plans
• Use of facilities
• Testing
• Compensation
• Apprenticeship and training programs

Meal Breaks

Under California labor law, employees are allowed to have meal breaks. They are allowed to have a meal period which is not shorter than 30 minutes if they have a work period that will exceed five hours. Employees whose working hours will not exceed six hours are exempted from this rule.

What to Do Before the Hearing

Before the hearing starts, you should be fully prepared for it. You may do this by following these tips:

• Contact possible witnesses- You should consider what opinions you need to prove your claim. Determine who are the witnesses needed to prove these opinions or facts.
The reason why witnesses are called is to provide the court facts that are important to your claim. Witnesses can either be persons who have relevant information or experts who have relevant opinions.
• Organize documents needed- You must give the court and the other party involved in the claim copies of documents that you are planning to use in the hearing. Included here are plans, photographs, written statements, expert’s reports, and diagrams.

Be sure that the other party will also give you the same documents.

• Seek legal representation- Having a legal expert who will represent you can definitely increase your chances of having a successful case. A lawyer who has experience in dealing with labor hearings already knows what happens in it. He or she will be able to provide you sufficient guidance throughout your legal ordeal.