Experienced Employment Lawyer in Maryland

Have you been discriminated against, denied overtime pay, wrongfully fired or treated in some other way that violates your rights under federal or state employment law?

You should contact a Maryland employment lawyer at The Law Offices of Peter T. Nicholl for a free, no obligation legal consultation. We may be able to pursue compensation or other remedies, including back pay, bonuses and reinstatement to your previous position. Our attorneys are well-versed in state and federal employment laws and the protections they provide to employees. We are committed to fighting for the justice and compensation you deserve so you can get back to focusing on your work.

Not only is your consultation with our reputable attorneys free, but you also will not be charged any fees or costs for our services unless we obtain the compensation you deserve.

Fill out a Free Case Evaluation form or call 410-244-7005.

Types of Employment Law Cases

The Maryland employment lawyers at our firm represent employees who were victims of the following illegal actions:

• Sexual harassment – This includes numerous forms of harassment, such as unwelcome sexual advances of a verbal or physical nature or requests for sexual favors.
• Discrimination – This covers any type of discrimination based on race, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, age, religion or gender.
• Wage and hour violations – Our Maryland employment attorneys are prepared to handle many types of wage and hour claims, such as failure to pay overtime compensation or minimum wage.
• Retaliation – There are many examples of retaliation, from being fired to demotions or verbal abuse or threats. If you were a victim of any form of retaliation for asserting your employee rights, such as the right to file a discrimination complaint, request a disability accommodation or be a witness in another employee's complaint, our employment lawyers in Maryland may be able to obtain compensation.
• Wrongful termination – This could be a form of retaliation for actions you took to assert your employee rights.
• Breach of employment contract – This could involve a firing that violates your employment agreement. There are also cases where an employer tries to enforce an unlawful non-compete agreement.
• Family and Medical Leave Act violations – If you were denied leave for a serious medical condition or a loved one's serious medical condition, our attorneys may be able to pursue compensation.

If you were a victim of any of these illegal actions, our Maryland employment attorneys may be able to pursue a case against your employer to obtain compensation or other remedies.

Schedule your free legal consultation today to discuss your potential legal options.

Why Do I Need an Employment Law Attorney?

There are many benefits to working with an attorney as you attempt to hold your employer accountable for violating your rights as an employee. An attorney can:

Manage Every Aspect of the Legal Process

Our employment attorneys in Maryland understand how difficult it is to go through the legal process while going to work or looking for work if you were illegally fired from your previous job. That is why we are prepared to manage all aspects of your case so you can focus on your employment situation.

For example, we can handle the investigation of your situation, including:

• Reviewing your account of what happened
• Obtaining statements from coworkers and other witnesses
• Looking into your employer's past for similar violations of employment law
• Obtaining records of the hours you worked
• Obtaining any pictures or video footage of the way you were treated

We can also represent you at all hearings and legal proceedings, defending your best interests and fighting for all of the remedies you are entitled to under the law. We will keep you informed throughout the legal process and explain what we need from you to help us as we try to achieve justice on your behalf.

Apply Employment Laws

Our attorneys have a wealth of knowledge about a wide variety of employment laws, including:

• Fair Labor Standards Act
• Maryland Wage and Hour Law
• Family Medical Leave Act
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Equal Pay Act of 1963
• Maryland anti-discrimination laws

We know how to apply knowledge of these laws to the specifics of your claim as we try to prove your rights were violated.

Determine Appropriate Compensation

The goal of an employment law claim is to obtain remedies for the effects of having your rights violated. The main remedy is financial compensation, which could include compensation for:

• Emotional anguish
• Unpaid overtime or wages
• Bonuses you should have received
• Punitive damages
• Cost of doing a job search
• Back pay
• Pay for vacation time you should have received
• Value of health or retirement benefits you lost as a result of illegal activity
• Legal fees

There are also employment law cases where victims need remedies like reinstatement to a previously-held position or a promotion they should have received.

Our employment law attorneys in Maryland know the various forms of compensation that are available for your case. We are committed to pursuing all available forms of compensation to help you move forward from this situation.

Contact The Law Offices of Peter T. Nicholl today for a free consultation.

Federal and State Anti-Discrimination Laws

There are several federal laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace, including:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, it is illegal for employers to discriminate against employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. These categories are also known as protected classes.
• Title I and V of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 – These sections of the ADA prohibit discrimination, including retaliation for discrimination based on someone's disability.
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 – The ADEA prohibits various forms of discrimination against employees who are 40 years old or older.
• The Equal Pay Act (EPA) of 1963 – The Equal Pay Act prohibits paying different wages to employees of different sexes if the employees perform the same work requiring equal skill, effort and responsibility. The only exceptions are when the difference in pay is because of: seniority, merit system, or a system where earnings are based on quantity or quality of production.

There are many examples of discrimination that violate these laws, such as:

• Firing someone based on his or her protected class
• Not hiring someone because of his or her race, color, sex, national origin, disability, age or religion
• Discriminating in recruiting for positions at the company, including using discriminatory language in job advertisements and decisions during the hiring process
• Offering different conditions of employment based on an employee's protected class
• Failing to promote someone because of his or her protected class
• Paying an employee less than a similarly situated employee based on race or sex
• Failing to provide reasonable accommodation of an employee's religious beliefs or disability
• Laying off employees based on their protected class
• Denying employment benefits to someone based on race, sex, religion, disability, age or national origin
• Making changes to an employee's compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment due to age

Title VII also prohibits various forms of harassment, based on an employee's protected class, such as:

• Making offensive comments about an employee's sex
• Making sexually suggestive comments in person or over the phone or email
• Making unwanted physical or sexual advances in the workplace
• Offering to trade sexual favors for advancement at the company, also called quid pro quo harassment
• Engaging in verbal or physical harassment based on an employee's race or religion

These laws also prohibit retaliation against employees who assert their rights under this law. Examples of retaliation include:

• Firing an employee who reports discrimination
• Engaging in verbal or physical abuse against an employee who reports discrimination
• Demoting an employee who answers questions during an investigation of discrimination
• Taking action against an employee who intervenes to protect an employee from unwanted sexual advances
• Transferring an employee to a less desirable position because he or she refused to follow orders that would have caused discrimination
• Demoting or firing an employee who turns down a coworker or manager's sexual advances

Maryland Anti-Discrimination Law

Maryland law prohibits the same forms of employment discrimination as the federal laws enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), including discrimination based on:

State law also prohibits discrimination on the basis of marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and genetic information. This includes harassment based on a protected class and retaliation for filing a complaint or being involved in an investigation of discrimination.

If you suffered any form of discrimination or retaliation in violation of state or federal law, contact an employment lawyer in Maryland for a free, no obligation legal consultation.

Call our attorneys today at 410-244-7005.

How Long Do I Have to File a Discrimination Complaint?

There are state and federal deadlines for filing a discrimination complaint:

EEOC Complaints

The EEOC handles complaints about violations of federal anti-discrimination laws. The EEOC gives you 180 days from the discrimination to file a complaint.

However, this deadline is extended to 300 calendar days if a state or local agency enforces a state or local law that prohibits the same type of discrimination. This extension applies to age discrimination claims if there is a state law prohibiting age discrimination in employment and a state authority that enforces the law.

These extensions apply in Maryland, which has an anti-discrimination law that prohibits the same forms of discrimination as federal law. This law is also enforced by the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (MMCR).

Anti-Discrimination Complaints in Maryland

In some cases, our Maryland employment attorneys will decide it is in your best interest to file a claim at the state level. Maryland anti-discrimination claims must be filed within six months of the discrimination you suffered. 

The federal and state deadlines may seem like they are a long way away, but they can get here much faster than you realize. That is why you should contact our attorneys as soon as possible about discrimination. This will give us as much time as possible to help you file a complaint and pursue the remedies you deserve.

Fill out a Free Case Evaluation form.

Unpaid Overtime & Wages Claims

Our attorneys are also prepared to take on cases involving violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which sets a federal minimum wage and regulations on overtime pay for most full-time and part-time workers in the private and public sector.

If your employer violates any of these regulations, our Maryland employment lawyers may be able to file a claim to recover all of the wages you are owed. In cases of repeated or willful violations of the law, we may be able to obtain a civil monetary penalty.

The deadline for filing an FLSA complaint is two years from when the cause of action accrued. If the claim involves repeated or willful violations, you have three years from the date of the violation to file a complaint.

Maryland Minimum Wage and Overtime Law

Maryland has its own regulations on minimum wages and overtime pay, also known as the Maryland Minimum Wage and Overtime Law.

This law sets the minimum wage for most employees in Maryland at $9.25 as of July 1, 2017. The minimum wage for employees who earn $30 or more per month in tips is $3.63 per hour.

State overtime regulations are the same as federal overtime regulations: workers must be paid one and a half times their usual hourly rate for any hours worked over 40 in a week.

If your rights under Maryland law are being violated, you can file a complaint with the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation. You must submit the complaint form within two years of the date you were first owed the unpaid wages.

However, you can also file a lawsuit to obtain your unpaid wages along with damages, which could be as much as three times the amount of unpaid wages, plus attorney fees. There is a three-year statute of limitations on these types of lawsuits.

Contact a Maryland employment attorney today for a free legal consultation.

Family and Medical Leave Act

Another right that you have as an employee is to take job-protected, unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) gives eligible employees 12 weeks of this type of leave each year.

This leave can be for various reasons, such as the birth of a child; taking care of a spouse, child or parent with a serious illness; or because you have a serious medical issue. Employees are eligible for this type of leave if they:

• Have worked for an employer for at least one year
• Worked more than 1,250 hours in the past year
• Work at a company with 50 or more employees within 75 miles

If you are denied leave, are fired for taking leave or if your employer interferes with your leave in another way, our Maryland employment lawyers may be able to obtain compensation for you.

The U.S. Department of Labor does not have a specific deadline for filing a complaint about FMLA violations. Employees are required to file within a reasonable amount of time after discovering the violation.

Our employment attorneys in Maryland can also help you file a private lawsuit over FMLA violations. These lawsuits are governed by a two-year deadline that begins after the last action that violated your rights. The deadline is three years if the violation was willful.

Not only can our attorney pursue back pay for the FMLA violations, we can also pursue liquidated damages, which are equal to the amount you recovered in lost pay.

Contact a Maryland Employment Lawyer Right Now

You work hard to support yourself and your family, so if your employer violates any of your rights under federal or state employment law, you should contact an attorney to review your situation.

The attorneys at The Law Offices of Peter T. Nicholl offer a free, no obligation legal consultation. We will not charge you any fees or costs for our services unless you receive compensation. We have in-depth knowledge of employment laws and how to pursue fair compensation.

Contact our attorneys today by completing a Free Case Evaluation form.