Practice

Employment & Workplace Matters

Workplace problems arrive with documents, dates, and pressure attached. The first job is always the same: read what actually happened, in order, against what the paperwork says.

What this covers

These are screening categories for a consultation. They describe subject matter, not a promise that a particular matter will be accepted.

  1. 01

    Hiring, discipline, and separation

    Offer letters, probationary terms, written warnings, performance plans, resignations, layoffs, and terminations. Most of the important facts in these matters are already written down somewhere, and the sequence of the documents usually matters as much as their contents.

  2. 02

    Workplace policies and agreements

    Handbooks, confidentiality and invention agreements, non-solicitation terms, arbitration provisions, independent contractor agreements, and severance documents. What a document does in practice is not always what a summary of it suggests.

  3. 03

    Pay and classification questions

    How someone is classified, how hours and pay are recorded, how breaks and overtime are treated, and what the records show. These questions turn on documentation more than on anyone's recollection.

  4. 04

    Workplace disputes and claims

    Internal complaints, investigations, administrative filings, and disputes that have already moved outside the workplace. If an agency or a deadline is already involved, say so in your first message.

Tell Anthony which side you are on

An employment matter has at least two sides, and an attorney cannot look at both. This is the single most important thing to say in your first message.

  1. Say whether you are an employee or an employer

    Put it in the first line of your call or email. If you are neither, for example a contractor or a board member, say that instead.

  2. Name the other people and businesses involved

    Anthony needs the names on the other side of the situation to run a conflict check. Without them, he cannot tell you whether he is able to look at your matter at all.

  3. Flag any deadline you have already been given

    A response date, a filing date, a hearing, or a severance signing window. Say so plainly, even if you are not sure the date is real.

Employment matters are screened individually. Nothing on this page states or implies exclusive representation of employees or employers. Whether Anthony may evaluate a matter depends on the parties, conflicts, facts, and requested scope.

What helps a first conversation

Have the timeline ready

  • Start date, and the date anything changed
  • Who said what, and when, as best you remember
  • Any complaint that was made internally, and to whom
  • Any date you have been asked to respond by

Know which documents exist

  • Offer letter, contract, or handbook
  • Any agreement you were asked to sign, including severance
  • Written warnings, reviews, or investigation notices
  • Pay records or schedules, if pay is part of the question

Knowing what exists is enough for a first conversation. Please do not send documents or confidential details before representation is confirmed in writing.

Contact

Start with the timeline.

A few lines about what happened and which side you are on is enough to begin. Please keep confidential details out of a first message.

Keep a first email brief and leave out confidential details. Contacting Anthony does not create an attorney-client relationship and does not extend any deadline, so call if a date in your matter is close.