You have a lot of rights as a worker. The sad reality, though, is that many employers take advantage of their employees, and the only way for you to protect your rights is to take legal action. But this can be a daunting task, especially when you’re unsure of whether your employer actually treated you unfairly and if you, therefore, have a justifiable legal claim.
Steps to start building your legal claim
Fortunately, an experienced employment law professional can help you make that determination. And, if legal action is warranted, then one of these professionals can help you craft the legal arguments that you need to support your position. But to get started building your case, you might want to consider doing each of the following:
- Gather and retain all communications with your employer that you feel may be indicative of harassment or discrimination, such as emails, text messages, and even phone conversations.
- Talk to witnesses who may be able to attest to the inappropriate behavior to which you’ve been subjected.
- Gather your performance appraisals so that you can counter any justifications that your employer provides for taking negative employment action against you.
- File appropriate complaints with your employer’s human resources department and keep track of their response.
- Keep anything from your employer that is complimentary of your work.
Building the legal strategy that you need on your side
Employment law disputes can be rather complicated. That’s why it’s important that you have someone on your side who knows the law and how to aggressively apply it to your set of circumstances.