A business owner who knows the types of employment issues commonly litigated is best equipped to prevent those complaints from ever getting filed. In Las Vegas, our team at the Aldrich Law Firm, Ltd., assists companies with defending against these suits as well as creating guidelines to mitigate their risk. Part of the solution is to understand the most common reasons employees file suit.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 89,385 discrimination charges were filed in fiscal year 2015. These complaints cover a number of types of discrimination, including the following:
- Race
- National origin
- Sex
- Religion
- Age
- Disability
Several federal laws prohibit businesses from discriminating on these and a number of other bases, such as pregnancy.
Harassment is another area where employees often file complaints with their employers. A co-worker, manager or customer can commit harassment when he or she makes inappropriate comments, touches the victim or otherwise bullies the employee. If the employer knows that the situation has occurred and does not take steps to remedy the behavior, the employee may be able to file a lawsuit.
Lastly, a worker may try to sue a company for wrongful termination. Nevada is an employment at-will state, which means that an employer may fire an employee at any time for any reason. However, there are limitations to that rule, as employers cannot terminate a worker based on the discrimination reasons listed above.
Working with a professional, business owners can establish best practices, provide employees with training and maintain policies that prevent and address these common complaints. For more information on this topic, please visit our page regarding employee complaints.
