People are often familiar with lawyers that work in a small area of law like divorce lawyers, personal injury lawyers, traffic ticket lawyers, or criminal defense lawyers. When it comes to employment lawyers it’s common to hear questions like, “what does that involve?” As a society we treat labor and employment laws and the rights in those laws with such weak regard that this question is honestly asked. Some may be aware of some rights under these laws but have little idea what to do or who to turn to when an employer violates those rights. An employment lawyer deals with these legal issues.
Plaintiff-side employment lawyers in Colorado
Plaintiff-side employment lawyers typically represent employees in labor law and employment law disputes. They help employees with situations in the workplace as employees or applicants for jobs. Examples of these include:
- Employment discrimination
- Retaliation
- Wrongful termination
- Unpaid wages
- Misclassification of employment
- Unpaid overtime pay
- Improperly denied employee benefits
Plaintiff-side employment lawyers in Colorado typically help employees in situations where an unlawful act or alleged unlawful act occurred. The employee may need the employment lawyer to help them pursue remedies through negotiation, a lawsuit, or an administrative procedure like an EEOC or NLRB complaint. Sometimes employment lawyers help employees proactively by reviewing employment contracts and other documents. They may also represent employees in negotiations and other employer-employee dealings such as labor union arbitrations.
Defense-side employment lawyers in Denver
Employment lawyers also help employers deal with labor and employment law issues. Employers may seek legal counsel for a range of issues including:
- Drafting and negotiating employment contracts
- Negotiating on an employer’s behalf in labor negotiations
- Advising employers on how to deal with complaints or reports of unlawful employment acts
- Investigating or overseeing investigations of complaints
Employment lawyers in Denver and other parts of the state also represent employers on the other side of proceedings with employees. These might range from negotiations to administrative proceedings, arbitrations and lawsuits. Law firms representing employers may have legal departments that deal with advising and drafting and a separate department dealing with litigation and representation in other dispute arenas.
Colorado labor laws and employment laws
Labor and employment laws in Colorado include both state and federal laws. They deal with all aspects of the employment relationship from discrimination to compensation to workplace safety. Many of these laws deal with the specific aspects of the relationship to a high level of specificity while others establish broader protections. If you believe there may be a legal issue in the workplace then you should talk to an employment lawyer near you right away. Many issues require quick action to preserve claims or establish defenses to claims.