Other Areas of Practice

Wrongful Termination, Discrimination, Harassment, Wage & Pay Disputes

When an employee is terminated for a reason that is not related to work performance or is not otherwise legitimate, the employee may have a claim for wrongful termination. Given Maryland is an “At-Will” state, employees without an employment contract generally can be terminated with or without cause at any time; however, employees cannot be terminated for any reason that violates a public policy or state and/or federal laws. Further, employees cannot be terminated in a fashion that does not follow their employment agreement, employment handbook, or the employer’s policies or provisions.

Although not every unfair reason for firing is a wrongful termination, common reasons for a firing that may be unlawful include:

-The employee refused to break a law

-Discrimination on the basis of age, race, national origin, gender, disability (ADA violation), religion, pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identification or other protected classes

-Retaliation for reporting or complaining about any kind of unlawful discrimination or harassment, including sexual harassment

-Retaliation for complaining about or “whistle-blowing” on violations of the law, including violations of workplace safety regulations or wage-and-hour violations

-Depending on the size of the employer, because the employee took family medical leave because of his or her own serious health condition or to care for a sick family member; otherwise known as FMLA violation.

-Retaliation for leave to serve in the armed forces

If you have been wrongfully and unlawfully terminated by your employer, you have the right to compensation for damages, lost wages and benefits and for emotional distress. In some cases, terminated employees may also be entitled to punitive damages.

Wage and Pay Disputes

Employers have an obligation to comply with all state, federal and local wage and hour laws and regulations that apply to their employees. Unfortunately, in many cases, this does not occur. Whether the violations are intentional or simply reflect an employer’s ignorance or misunderstanding of the law, employees are entitled to recover for unlawful pay practices.

Common examples of wage and hour violations include the following:

-Failing to pay employees for all hours worked, including for time spent preparing to work and finishing work

-Misclassifying employees as exempt from overtime pay requirements

-Failing to pay overtime pay for hours worked over eight (8) hours in a day or forty (40) hours in a work week

-Failing to provide adequate meal and rest periods to employees or requiring employees to work “on duty” meal periods

-Failing to timely pay all wages due at termination or resignation of employment

-Unlawfully taking tips earned by employees

-Maintaining unlawful “use it or lose it” vacation or personal day policies or not paying out accrued leave at the time of termination by either party

-Requiring employees to pay for uniforms or other business-related expenses

-Misclassifying employees as independent contractors

If you are interested in learning how Nowicki & Associates can help you, contact our office to arrange a consultation. Call us at 410-879-0026 or email Tyler J. Nowicki, Esq. directly at Tnowicki@jwnlaw.com. All consultations are free and we’ll take the time to answer each and every question.