There are many labor attorneys to choose from in Florida. Some law firms, like the Shavitz Law Group, represent employees on contingency. In other words, the lawyers are paid based on the amount of money recovered for their clients and their fees come directly from employers instead of the pockets of the employees. The reason this is possible often relates to the Fair Labor Standards Act, a law passed by Congress that provides specific rights to employees.
The types of labor attorneys that represent clients on a contingency include include those practicing in the areas of wage and hour (overtime pay), discrimination, worker’s compensation, ERISA, and whistleblower lawsuits. When considering a lawyer, one of the first questions that you may want to ask is whether or not the attorney represents both the plaintiff (the person suing) and the defendant (often the employer). The Shavitz Law Group’w website helpingworkers.com shows our commitment to the representative of the plaintiff side, or the employees.
Not all labor attorneys represent clients on contingency. Some represent their clients for a fee. This includes lawyers practicing in the areas of contract contracts, unemployment appeals, and other areas where an attorney can not be expected to be compensated by the defendant.
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How does one tell the difference between different labor attorneys? Martindale-Hubbell and certain other services provide “peer ratings” where lawyers can nominate attorneys or law firms they feel stand out. Gregg Shavitz, Keith Stern, and Susan Stern from the Shavitz Law Group have been recognized at the highest level possible by their peers in the Martindale-Hubbell ratings.
A free consultation often is critical for prospective clients in determining the right lawyer to choose. It is an excellent opportunity to get a feel for the type of service a lawyer or law firm will provide. In addition, this also provide you the chance to take a sneak preview at issues, for and against, your potential position against your employer. Afterall, you can make an informed decision on the right lawyer and whether your claim should be resolved through the court system.
One thing every employee should know – there is a limited period of time (or statute of limitation) to make a claim. Occasionally, our firm receives a call from a prospective client and we learn they are calling about a job five or more years old. In other words, they left their job more than 5 years ago. Like almost any area of law except for areas like the death penalty, a person’s rights to make a claim have a limited time frame. In the area of labor law, the amount of time varies depending on the type of claim. Overtime wage claims can be filed up to two or three years from the alleged infraction, but discrimination claims must be filed within a few months per the EEOC (federal government) guidelines.
Any prospective client should consult a labor attorney or a firm like the Shavitz Law Group as soon there is a thought that labor laws could have been violated. Then, you have done everything in your power to make sure your claim has been addressed and that the likelihood that too much time has passed has been minimized as much as possible.