Justice at Work™

Should I Get a Lawyer for an Unemployment Appeal?

After receiving a denied unemployment claim, you have a chance to make an appeal. But the timeline is tight, the process can be complicated and it’s certain that your former employer will have legal representation. That’s why a lawyer who specializes in unemployment claims can help. Having an att…

Can I sue for wrongful termination?

After pouring time, energy and talent into your work, it’s frustrating to be fired from your job without warning and without explanation. But Georgia and Alabama are at-will employment states, meaning employers may fire employees at any time and for any reason, provided they have not violated any…

What is a Non-Compete Agreement?

In the rush of onboarding, it’s sometimes easy to overlook an important new hire document—the non-compete agreement. Employers often put forward non-competes to maintain their edge against competitors. But while these contracts are common, they’re not always fair to employees. When does a non-com…

What you should know before agreeing to a severance package

After a layoff, anxious employees sometimes sign whatever severance agreement they’re offered, failing to appreciate that they may have more leverage to negotiate than they’d expect. While companies are under no obligation to even offer severance, many do so, eager to demonstrate their goodwill, …

Understanding Equity in Hiring

Discussions of workplace discrimination often center on actions that occur during someone’s time as an employee. But workplace safeguards extend to the hiring process as well, and it’s illegal for employers of a certain size to discriminate against applicants due to their protected characteristic…

How are pregnant employees protected against discrimination?

Many women are pregnant at some point during their working life, yet workplaces often still treat pregnancy as an impossible obstacle to hiring, career advancement or even continued employment. After giving birth and returning to work, new mothers often face judgment, questions about their commit…

How Does the Law Protect Religious Freedom in the Workplace?

Just this fall, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced three major settlements involving religious discrimination lawsuits. The cases, which originated in Maryland, Florida and Colorado, demonstrated how workers from any part of the country, and of any religious background, can face harassment, miss opportunities or be denied accommodation due to their beliefs.

Mental Health in the Workplace

Mental health, once a taboo topic for many employers, became a top business consideration in 2021 as people became more open during the pandemic about the challenges they face. According to a Harvard Business Review report, two-thirds of surveyed employees told someone they work with about a mental health challenge in the past year—an increase from the original 2019 survey.

How to Spot Workplace Retaliation

Every year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reports its annual charges based on categories of discrimination. Year after year, retaliation tops the list, accounting for more than half of cases in 2020. While some workplace retaliation may seem obvious—a sudden firing or demotio…

Employee Spotlight: Lacey Wilson

Lacey Wilson is a law clerk with Barrett & Farahany’s Alabama Trial Practice Group and a third-year law student at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham.
Lacey has worked in a variety of areas of the judicial system since she was a teenager, beginning as a clerk’s assistant…

Is Workplace Monitoring and Surveillance Legal in Georgia?

For anyone who works in a retail job, or who may have in the past, it’s no surprise that much of the work takes place under employer surveillance. Cameras are likely visible on the floor, in the stockroom and near the exits.

Summary Judgment Orders From September

DeLoach v. CSX Transportation, Inc.; District Judge Mark H. Cohen and Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman; ADA – Reasonable Accommodation; Summary Judgment: Granted.

 
Case Name: TBD
Nature of the Order: TBD
Magistrate Judge: TBD
District Judge: TBD
Claims & Outcomes:
Whether …

Employee Spotlight: Cameron Tipton

Cameron is an associate at Barrett & Farahany’sBirmingham office. Cameron earned her law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law, where she served on the managing board of the Alabama Law Review as web editor. She was also a member of the John A. Campbell Moot Court Board, and she ass…

Fair Credit Reporting Act

Do I have a Fair Credit Reporting Act claim?
So much in life rests on your credit report: your ability to obtain a mortgage, a car loan or even a job. And when someone makes a mistake, whether it’s the credit reporting agency, your creditors or debt collectors, it can have a huge impact on your life. You may unfairly lose an opportunity, take on debt at a higher interest rate or face judgment from prospective employers.

Wage Discrimination

While the pandemic has disproportionally disrupted women’s presence in the workforce, inequality has been there all along. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women with full-time wages or salaries earned just 82 percent of what men earned in 2019—a ratio that has barely budged since 200…

Summary Judgment Orders From August

DeLoach v. CSX Transportation, Inc.; District Judge Mark H. Cohen and Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman; ADA – Reasonable Accommodation; Summary Judgment: Granted.
Hendricks v. Henry County, Georgia; District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr. and Magistrate Judge Russell G. Vineyard; Discrimination u…

Summary Judgment Orders From July

Brooks v. Steadfast Services, Inc.; District Judge Amy Totenberg; Breach of Contract; Summary Judgment Denied.
Crittendon et al v. International Follies, Inc. et al
Davis v. Dekalb County, Georgia
Farrakhan v. Dal Global Services D/B/A Delta Global Services, Delta Airlines, and John Does 1–10
…

How to Know When You Have A Case: Unfair vs. Illegal

Employment law cases are particularly complex due to the subtleties involved.
There is often a fine line between something that is unfair and something that violates federal or state laws. Employment attorneys spend early consultations with clients determining if a particular situation is illegal or just unfair. Here are some of the most common situations we hear about:

Summary Judgment Orders From June

Butts v. Centimark Corp.; District Judge Cohen and Magistrate Judge Salinas; race discrimination and retaliation; Summary Judgment: Granted. Alexander v. Georgia State...

What to Know About Hostile Work Environments

As more employees return to in-person work and hiring ramps up, it's important for workers to know their rights as well as...

How to Fight Back Against National Origin Discrimination

Any kind of discrimination based on national origin is against the law, whether it is being carried out by a US company...

The Childcare Conundrum: How COVID-19 Continues To Impact Women In The Workplace

As the economy has opened up, more employees have returned to some form of in-person employment, with one exception. Working mothers, who...

Sexual Harassment and the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic may have changed the way we work, but it didn't keep sexual harassment at bay. Even with fewer people...

Women’s Rights and the Laws that Protect Them at Work

We’ve come a long way, baby, from first starting to work outside the home in the 19th century to present-day, when women are running boardrooms and holding some of the highest offices in our country. Along with this progression have come laws to support female advancement in the workforce and pro…