Getting fired, being refused a promotion you worked hard to deserve, not getting paid for regular time or overtime hours you have worked, being denied a benefit claim by your employer, being retaliated against for whistleblowing or being subject to harassment or discrimination in the workplace can be a violation of state and federal employment laws. State and federal law extends many rights, privileges, and protections to employers, but never at the expense of employees who may suffer illegal abuses or injustices in the name of profits. Many of these cases involve the following:
Sexual Harassment, Age Discrimination, Wage claims, Insurance company bad faith, Labor Board, Qui Tam “Whistle Blower” cases, Wrongful termination, Employment discrimination.
There are two areas where individuals may have a case, but are unaware of such fact because of the complexity of the law. One is in the area of wage and hour claims. The second are commonly referred to as Qui Tam actions. A word about both below.
WAGE AND HOUR LAW
Federal law protects employees’ rights. Passed in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was landmark legislation passed to protect one of this nation’s most cherished principles: fair pay for honest work. Today, the rights of workers are under unprecedented assault by predatory employers. The violations are endless:
Rank and file employees are commonly and wrongly classified as “white collar” and so therefore exempt from the FLSA.
The requirement of paying overtime at a 150% premium is routinely ignored.
An astonishing number of companies are intent on working employees “off the clock” to cut costs.
QUI TAM/WHISTLEBLOWER ACTIONS:
If you have specific evidence a company is defrauding the government you can file a legal action in the government’s name. The whistleblower receives a percentage of any money the government recovers. This is done under the qui tam provisions of the Federal False Claims Act. The whistleblower (known as a qui tam relator) files a lawsuit. The U.S. Department of Justice has 60 days to investigate the claim and decide whether it will join in the legal action. If the government joins the lawsuit, the whistleblower can receive between 15 and 25 percent of the recovery depending on the value of the information provided. Similar laws exist in Florida and other states.
There are some important restrictions on federal qui tam actions. You cannot recover if another whistleblower has already filed an action based on the same information. Income tax fraud is not covered under federal law. Information that has already been made public cannot serve as the basis of a whistleblower claim.
If you believe that you have witnesses such illegal actions or are not being paid properly, please use the form on the right side of this page to contact us.
