EMPLOYMENT AND DISCRIMINATION LAW
Our experienced and dedicated team of employment law practitioners work daily with this complex and rapidly changing area of the law. Attorneys in both our Milwaukee and Madison offices practice in courts and administrative tribunals throughout the State of Wisconsin.
The employment law team is committed to representing the interests of job seekers and employees before, during, and after employment. We pride ourselves on providing our clients legal advice and advocacy equal to the best that is available to their employer adversaries.
We have extensive experience representing people from all walks of life and in all professions and occupations. We have negotiated with and litigated against private and government, large and small employers. We are skilled at identifying meritorious claims based upon the numerous laws and court decisions that make up a complex patchwork of legal protection for employees.
What We Do:
- Severance Agreements - As an employment relationship ends, monetary and non-monetary severance benefits can enhance your ability to move on without unnecessary personal hardship. Severance agreements can provide valuable benefits, but they need to be reviewed with caution and deliberation because they often cut off other claims.
- Employment Discrimination - State and federal law prohibits discrimination in employment, but procedures for making a complaint are detailed and complicated. Time limits for most such claims are very short. Complaining directly to an employer will not extend the short time limits for making a claim with the government and preserving your right to sue. Timely, confidential advice can help to reach a sound decision about when and how to object to discrimination at work or to assert that your termination was discriminatory.
- Non-Competition Agreement Disputes - Promises not to compete, which some employers demand from their employees, are viewed with suspicion under Wisconsin law. Agreements that go too far are void and unenforceable. Because new employers and old customers can be drawn into these disputes, experienced legal counsel and advocacy are crucial.
- Wrongful Discharge - An employee who is fired for refusing to violate a law or regulation can sue the employer-wrongdoer. This is a developing area of the law in Wisconsin. In addition to protection for terminated employees, a number of statutes provide protection for specific kinds of whistle blowing.
- Due Process, Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Association - For government employees, the Bill of Rights and the Wisconsin Constitution give additional protections, including due process rights, protection from punishment for exercising freedom of speech and protection for freedom of association.
- Employment Agreements - Look before you leap is good advice. Any bargaining power to modify onerous terms in an employment agreement should be exercised before you sign. When everything is going well, "it's just a formality" sounds reasonable. Not so when your career is on the line. We can help you to understand and evaluate what you are being asked to sign and can assist you in resisting unreasonable agreements.
Getting Results
- Litigation - Litigation sometimes is the only way to resolve a serious dispute. Negotiations are driven by employers' interests in avoiding the risk of litigation. We offer decades of real world experience advocating in investigations, hearings, trials, and appeals in courts and administrative agencies throughout Wisconsin.
- Negotiation - Skillful negotiation resolves most disputes. Most employers, confronted with well-prepared demands based on skillfully organized evidence and legal arguments, will settle "out of court." We work to avoid costly litigation when possible, and to negotiate from a position of strength.
Depth of Experience
As part of a firm of varied, knowledgeable and experienced professionals, we can provide our clients with counsel and advocacy affecting all aspects of employment and career issues. Combining our many years of experience and expertise of the employment law practitioners with that of the other attorneys at Hawks Quindel, S.C. enhances the depth and breadth of representation that our firm can offer to our clients.
Employment Law Resources
- Handbook for Wisconsin Workers on Family Medical Leave Act Rights (by Attorney Jeffrey Sweetland)
- http://www.jan.wvu.edu (job accommodations for persons with disabilities)
- www.eeoc.gov (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)
- https://www.dwd.state.wi.us/er (State of Wisconsin Dept of Workforce Development, Equal Rights Division)
- http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/ui (State of Wisconsin Dept of Workforce Development, Unemployment Compensation Division)
- http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/wc (State of Wisconsin Dept of Workforce Development, Worker's Compensation Division)
Please contact us if you would like to discuss your rights. In Madison, call (800) 610-0040 or (608) 257-0040. In Milwaukee, call (800) 236-3348 or (414) 271-8650, or send us an email.