Employment Law Massachusetts, - Employment discrimination law may encompass a variety of issues surrounding the
relationship between employee and employer such as wrongful termination,
whistleblower termination, non-payment of wages, salaries or commissions,
unlawful non-compete agreements, and discrimination in the workplace.
In Massachusetts employment discrimination law, employees who work without a written contract for a
specific time period are considered “at will” employees. This term means
that either the employee or the employer may terminate the employment
relationship for just cause or totally without cause. Nevertheless, if the
employer terminates the relationship, the employee may have certain rights
under employment discrimination law, such as claims of discrimination. It is always
advisable to discuss the particular facts of your employment discrimination law case with a competent
Massachusetts Employment law attorney before taking an action against your employer or making
allegations of discrimination.
Employees who are members of a “protected class” may bring a charge of
discrimination against their employer for practices which discriminate on
the basis of race, national origin, religion, gender, age (over 40),
sexual preference, disability or if the employer retaliates against them
for complaining of discriminatory practices.
Employment Law Massachusetts - Important Info
FILE YOUR CLAIM
You must file a Massachusetts employment discrimination law claim within six (6) months of the employer’s alleged
discriminatory conduct at the Massachusetts Commission Against
Discrimination (MCAD) and within 300 days of this conduct with the
Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Failure to
properly and timely file a Charge of Discrimination within the times
specified may invalidate your claim and bar you from any remedy or
recovery.
EMPLOYER’S CONDUCT
An employer may discriminate against an employee several ways under employment law in Massachusetts. The
most common form of employment discrimination is the creation of a
hostile work environment. Often this is evident by the way a supervisor,
or another employee with the knowledge of the supervisor, harasses the
employee or negatively treats the employee differently from other
employees who are not members of the employee’s protected class. There
is also quid pro quo Massachusetts discrimination usually associated with sexual
harassment claims where the employee is asked to provide some sort of
favor (sexual or otherwise) in exchange for a promotion or other
employment related benefit but is later denied for failure to comply.
These are merely illustrations of violations of Massachusetts employment discrimination law, but you should discuss
the specific facts of your particular case with a Massachusetts employment law attorney to determine
whether or not there is a basis for a claim.
ADVISING THE EMPLOYER
If you feel you are being discriminated against at work, you should
advise your employer that you believe his/her conduct is discriminatory
and provide the employer an opportunity to mediate or address the
discriminatory conduct. Please be aware that it is also illegal under Massachusetts employment discrimination law for an
employer to retaliate against an employee for complaining about alleged
discriminatory conduct.
REMEDIES
If an employer is found to be liable for unlawful discrimination
against an employee the damages you may be entitled to under Massachusetts employment discrimination law include:
- Compensatory Damages (back pay and lost wages/benefits)
- Future Pay (available where the termination was illegal and the
circumstances make it impossible and unreasonable for you to mitigate
you damages [see Mitigating Damage below] by finding substitute
employment).
- Emotional Distress Damages
- Punitive Damages (where the conduct of the employer is clearly
intentional and the jury decides the best manner to deter future acts
of discrimination is by awarding monetary damages)
- Attorneys Fees and Costs
MITIGATING DAMAGE
If you have been terminated (or constructively terminated) you have
an obligation to actively look for and find suitable replacement
employment and to file and collect unemployment benefits if you are
entitled to them. These forms of compensation may be used to offset the
compensatory damages you have suffered and your failure to find
alternative forms of compensation may diminish or eliminate your ability
to recover for your losses.
CONSTRUCTIVE TERMINATION
In some instances the employer has not terminated the employee but
has made working in the position intolerable. If the actions of the
employer are directly linked to discriminatory conduct then the
employee’s “quitting” the job may be actionable as well.
These are just examples of legal issues which arise for employees in
their employment. If you feel you have been the victim of employment
discrimination or would like to discuss the harassing conduct of your
employer, call the Law Office of Seth S. Stoffregen, Employment Law Massachusetts, (617) 332-1300 to
ask about representation, consultation fees, and employment discrimination law support.
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Seth S. Stoffregen
