Keep Fighting: Part 2 of Our Series on Filing Employment Discrimination Claims Against Federal Agencies

Bringing forward a complaint for employment discrimination when your current, past, or prospective employer is a federal agency can trigger long and process-oriented proceedings with the EEOC (“Equal Employment Opportunity Commission”). Our blog for the previous month covered the beginning of this process up to the end of the agency’s investigation. While that might sound like the end of the entire process, there are Read More

Part 1: Filing an Employment Discrimination Claim Against a Federal Agency

Federal employees, like most employees of private entities, are entitled to a number of workplace protections. More specifically, federal employees may not be discriminated against on the basis of their age, race, religion, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy status. Again, the majority of private employers in Michigan, Illinois, and across the country are also prohibited Read More

COVID-19, Vaccines, and Returning to Work

It has been a strange and difficult year-and-a-half. In that span, we have gone from knowing very little about the coronavirus to discussing the various types of COVID-19 vaccines approved for emergency use by the FDA. While many companies implemented permanent work-from-home policies, many others are urging employees to return to in-person work. The more we have learned about the virus, the more complex work life Read More

What Employees Need to Know about the EEOC

If you have had the misfortune of being the victim of employment discrimination or harassment, you need to know a few things about the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or “EEOC.” This is a federal agency that is tasked with enforcing federal protections for employees across the country. The EEOC was created in 1965, the year after Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. The Civil Rights Act of Read More

Protections for Pregnant Employees in Michigan

As any mom can tell you, simply existing as a pregnant person, much less working a full-time job, can be utterly exhausting. Fortunately, there are several laws (both federal and state) that offer some protections for pregnant employees in Michigan. We’ll go over these protections, as well as some workplace rights you have after you’ve given birth.  Federal and State Pregnancy Discrimination Laws Under federal law, Read More

How To Calculate Lost Wages After An Accident If You’re Self-Employed

The hardest part for many personal injury victims and their loved ones is the financial crunch they experience in the aftermath of the accident or event that caused the injury. Medical bills are almost always a main contributor to that financial stress, and lost income often plays a big part, as well. Calculating lost income is simpler when you are an employee and get paid a set amount at regular intervals. Sole Read More

What to Know About Michigan Whistleblower Protections

Oftentimes, real progress in Michigan and throughout the U.S. happens due to the actions of brave individuals who risk their employment and livelihoods to expose illegal or immoral actions on the part of companies. These people have come to be referred to as “whistleblowers.” You don’t have to bring attention to criminal wrongdoing in a large federal agency to be recognized as a whistleblower — something as simple as Read More

Why is Getting a “Right to Sue” Letter Important?

Employers do not always have their employees' best interests at hand, even though they should. To fight this, there are federal laws in place that forbid employers from treating their employees differently because of their race, religion, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. If someone believes their current or former employer broke the law by discriminating against them, they have Read More

Age Discrimination in Michigan Workplaces

The landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 instituted protections for a number of Americans in designated protected classes of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. These protected classes mean that individuals cannot be discriminated against on the basis of their membership in one of these protected classes.  Since that law’s passage, countless state and federal laws have been passed to strengthen protections Read More

5 Mistakes Employees Make When Offered Severance Agreements

There is nothing that completely takes away the sting of losing your job, but a severance package can offer a departing employee a temporary insurance policy, of sorts, to help them make it to the next chapter in his or her life. Many people who are being terminated from their positions at work likely do not have much experience with severance packages; as a result, they might commit an error that leaves money or Read More