Have you been treated differently than other workers due to your race or gender at your workplace? Have you been denied overtime wages for the hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week? Or have you been terminated because you took FMLA leave for health reasons?
Our team at O’Hara Law Firm is committed to workplace fairness by representing employees in employment matters throughout Texas. We have helped employees in different industries secure their rights and to be compensated for unlawful employment actions taken against them. We give each case the time and attention it deserves.
We deal with a broad range of labor and employment law issues, including, but not limited to:
Discrimination: Federal law makes it illegal to discriminate against employees based on a few protected categories, such as race, sex, age, disability, religion, and national origin. If you are treated differently or are discriminated against at your workplace based on any of these categories, you may have a discrimination claim. A successful discrimination claim may entitle you to back pay, front pay, lost benefits, compensatory and punitive damages, and attorney’s fees and costs.
Retaliation: Your employer cannot retaliate against you for engaging in a protected activity. Examples of “protected activities” may be making a complaint about an ongoing issue, or reporting a health or safety hazard at your workplace. Retaliation, in such a case, may include any adverse employment actions by your employer, such as termination or demotion from your job role.
Sexual harassment: Generally speaking, sexual harassment can be defined as any unwelcome or inappropriate sexual remarks or physical advances in the workplace. If you experience sexual harassment at your workplace or endure such offensive conduct to ensure continued employment, you may have a sexual harassment claim.
Wrongful termination: Wrongful termination involves firing an employee because she reported an unlawful workplace practice or unsafe working condition, or in retaliation for complaining about discrimination, payment of wages, or any other policy or practice of her employer that is against the law.
Hostile work environment: Hostile work environment is one where continued harassment becomes so severe or pervasive that a reasonable person would consider the work environment to be intimidating, hostile, or abusive.
Wages and overtime: If you have not been paid for all the hours worked, or if you worked overtime without being paid for those overtime hours, you may be entitled to all back wages, overtime wages at a rate of 1.5 times your regular pay, and liquidated damages. If your employer’s violation is found to be willful, you may also be entitled to punitive damages.
FMLA Leave and Retaliation: The federal law allows qualified employees to take FMLA leave for an employee’s own health conditions or for the care of an immediate family member. This is a federally protected right, and your employer cannot interfere with your FMLA rights or retaliate against you or terminate you from your job solely because you took FMLA leave. If you win your FMLA case, you may be entitled to any lost back pay, front pay, and liquidated damages.
O’Hara Law Firm advocates for employees’ rights at all stages of the legal process. If a client’s claim requires an initial filing with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and/or the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), we help clients complete a proper charge of discrimination, and then represent them in the EEOC mediation as well as the EEOC investigation process. We also aggressively represent employees in both state and federal courts in enforcing their employee rights.
If you feel that you have been treated differently at your workplace, or have experienced any other unlawful actions by your employer, don’t hesitate to contact us for an initial case evaluation or to talk about your employment law issue.
