Employment Law
Columbus Employment Law Attorney
Karen Poling Law successfully navigates the complexity of today’s business and employment environment in Columbus, Hilliard, Dublin, Worthington, and all of Central Ohio.
Because of this complexity, employment law can include virtually any aspect of a variety of types of relationships between employers and employees.
We work to save you time, money, and stress, while bringing our experience and energy to vigorously pursue your best interests.
Even if the best course seems to be arriving at a settlement without following up with a lawsuit, our experience has been that resolute representation is required.
We look for evidence of discrimination or retaliation that can be pursued on a legitimate basis to gain satisfaction for our client. We will pursue the matter to the fullest, including filing charges with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and Wage-Hour, as well as state and/or federal lawsuits, to increase the likelihood of obtaining the best results possible for our clients.
The following definitions are provided to help distinguish some of the areas of employment law that we routinely represent.
We are always available to respond to your legal needs and welcome the opportunity to assist you.
An employee who is over the age of 40 is protected by the state and federal age discrimination statutes. An employer discriminates against an employee based on his/her age when the employer makes an employment decision (hiring, firing, promoting, demoting, or scheduling hours) solely based on the employee’s age of over 40. If an employer makes a decision based on an employee is over 40, it is in violation of state and federal statutes.
Disability discrimination cases come in different forms. The basic disability discrimination claim is when an employer makes an employment decision (hiring, firing, promoting or demoting) solely based on the employee’s disability or perceived disability. If an employer makes a decision based on an employee’s disability or perceived disability, it is in violation of state and federal statutes and is actionable.
If an employee has a disability and can continue working if the employer provides a reasonable accommodation, that employer must provide the accommodation if it does not create an undue hardship. If an employer refuses to accommodate and employee’s disability when that accommodation is reasonable, the employee has a claim of disability discrimination.
Gender discrimination includes a wide variety of claims. The basic gender discrimination claim is when an employer makes an employment decision (hiring, firing, promoting, or demoting) solely based on the employee’s gender. If an employer makes a decision based on an employee’s gender, it is in violation of state and federal statutes and is actionable.
Pregnancy discrimination is when an employer makes an employment decision (i.e. hiring, firing, promoting, demoting, or scheduling hours) solely based on the employee’s pregnancy. If an employer makes a decision based on an employee’s pregnancy, it is in violation of state and federal statutes and is actionable.
Sexual harassment occurs on of two ways. First, an employee is sexually harassed when a supervisor makes an employee an offer to improve their employment in exchange for sexual favors. This is called quid pro quo sexual harassment.
The second type of sexual harassment is a hostile work environment. A hostile work environment is when an employee or supervisor of an employer makes persistent, daily, and unwelcome comments or sexual advances towards another employee. The advances must be so persistent that it creates a hostile work environment that affects the employee’s ability to do his/her job.
Race discrimination is when an employer makes an employment decision (hiring, firing, promoting or demoting) solely based on the employee’s race. If an employer makes a decision based on an employee’s race, it is in violation of state and federal statutes and is actionable.
People who work for the public sector may have more rights than employees who work for private companies. If an employee is a classified employee and he/she is subjected to an adverse employment action, he/she has the right to appeal the decision to the State Personnel Board of Review. The deadline for filing with this board is very quick, and any person considering filing an appeal should call an attorney immediately.
Sometimes, an employer offers an employee a severance agreement when the employer terminates that employee’s employment. Severance agreements typically contain an offer of money referred to as severance pay in exchange for the employee signing away his/her rights to sue the employer. Severance agreements should be reviewed by attorneys to ensure that the offer is fair and that the employee is not signing away any rights he/she should not waive.
A wrongful termination is when an employer decides to terminate the employment of an employee and that decision was based on discrimination or retaliation. To be actionable, the decision must have been motivated by discrimination of race, gender, age, including sexual harassment, pregnancy, national origin, disability, or religion. It is also wrongful termination if the termination was motivated by retaliation for participating in a protected activity such as collecting workers’ compensation, whistleblowing, filing a complaint of discrimination, or exercising rights under the Family Medical Leave Act.
The information and definitions above have been prepared by Karen Poling Law for information purposes only and are not legal advice. Transmission of the information contained on this site is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client or business relationship between the sender and the receiver. Internet subscribers and online readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.
