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I've Just Been Fired, Do I Have a Case?

You've just been ""Fired"" by your employer. Do you have a case? read more

Employment Law

Maybe you loved your job.  You enjoyed your work, and looked forward to it every morning.  Your colleagues may have been a delight.

Or...  Maybe you hated your job and dreaded every day you had to go there.  Just the thought of it made you want to stay in bed permanently.  Maybe your boss and your colleagues could have come straight out of Dilbert cartoons.

But you hung in there anyway.  You’re not a quitter.  Besides, you’ve got responsibilities.  A family to support.  A mortgage to pay.  College loans to pay off. 

And then, one day, there it was:  the pink slip.  They said you were no longer needed.  But then, not everyone lost their job.  Maybe you’re older than your former colleagues who are still there.  Maybe you’re from a different background.

It’s such a shock to suddenly lose your livelihood, especially after putting in all those years of hard work.  What in the world could have happened?  What could you have done differently, you wonder, as you’re out on the street, pounding the pavement.  Maybe what you need is a good lawyer!

And if you live in or near Martinsburg, in Berkeley, Jefferson, or Morgan County, or anywhere else in the Eastern Panhandle, help is close by.  If you’d like an experienced, trustworthy employment attorney on your side, you don’t need to look any further.

Meet Harry Waddell, the employment attorney with a proven record of success.  The lawyer with the personal touch.  With 12 years of defense work under his belt, he knows the tricks that the other side likes to use against his clients.  He will personally fight for getting you the compensation you deserve.

Harry will also be glad to represent you if you live in other parts of West Virginia, including Potomac Highlands (Grant, Hampshire and Hardy Counties), or in Western Maryland (Washington County and Hagerstown).

Or perhaps you weren’t laid off  but are “just” treated badly at work. Maybe your workplace qualifies as a hostile environment because of sexual harassment or because of harassment based on your sex, race, age, national origin, religion or disability.

Maybe you’ve been stuck in a lower-level position while people hired long after you keep passing you on their way up the ladder.  Maybe you’re underpaid, or maybe you’re not being paid the money that you have already earned.  Maybe you’re forced to work overtime off the clock.

Whatever it may be, whether you’re dealing with discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment, or any other workplace issue, Harry Waddell can help you.  He has many years of experience with helping his clients win in employment-related cases.  In fact, together with 4 other attorneys, he represented 11,000 former employees of a telemarketing firm in a wage class action suit and won a $15,000,000 (15 million dollars!) settlement. Harry has worked on state and federal levels, and he can help you too.

If you feel traumatized and worried about what will happen, you’ll find Harry’s record very reassuring. As you wonder what to do, you’ll want information you can trust.  And Harry Waddell understands that and has just what you need:  He has personally written a special report that will give you a head start by answering many of your questions:

• I’ve Just Been Fired.  Do I Have a Case?

Knowledge is power, and that power will be yours for the price of a simple phone call:  304-263-4988.  Just ask and we’ll put your personal copy of Harry’s report in the mail right away.

In that report, you’ll discover a wealth of information that will reassure you and help you decide on a plan of action.  And if, after reading your booklet, you believe you do have a case, or if you would like help in deciding if you do, you’ll know who you can call:

Harry Waddell, the lawyer you can trust. The lawyer who will personally go to bat for you.  You can reach him at 304-263-4988.  Meanwhile, be sure to document everything, and we mean absolutely everything:

• incidences
• conversations
• who did what to whom
• when and how

This works.  All this information may turn out to be crucial evidence, and you want to make sure you’ll remember all the details.

And just in case you’re worried about getting lost in a huge impersonal legal maze and being nothing but a number for the law office, please don’t be.  That’ll never happen with Harry Waddell.  When you call him, you will not be passed off to a legal assistant or a paralegal.  Harry will personally listen to you and explain what he can do for you.  If you decide to have him represent you, he will personally handle your case.

And Harry Waddell is not far away in some anonymous big city either.  His office is conveniently located right here in Martinsburg, WV 25401, at 300 West Martin Street. You can reach him at 304-263-4988.

So don’t delay.  Don’t give the other side a leg up.  If you’ve been wronged by your employer in any way, let Harry Waddell help you get the compensation you deserve.  Call 304-263-4988 for your free report and your free consultation.  Harry Waddell will be happy to help you.

Blog for Employment Law

• Important employment law development in federal disability law
• EEOC probing whether hiring practices discriminate against unemployed applicants
• Company fires woman who claimed sexual harassment
• Supreme Court's retaliation ruling a boon to employees.
• LATimes says Wal-Mart class-action ruling will set precedent for discrimination cases.
• Class action suits rise as employers misclassify workers.
• Whistleblowers instrumental in recovering millions in fraud cases.
• Civil Cases Filed Against Employers Withholding Money from Retirement or Health Accounts
• Court Orders employee reinstated
• Worker Rights Extend to Facebook
• Can verbal complaints meet the FLSA standard?
• Citigroup uses the recession to fire women
• Charleston Gazette calls for stronger whistleblower protections
• Workers File More Claims Citing Bias in Layoffs
• Muslims Report Rising Discrimination at Work
• Editorial from the NYT: Shortchanging America's Women
• Study: Sex Discrimination Could Explain Partner Pay Disparities
• Facts on Sexual Harassment
• More ADA claims filed in 2009 than in any other year
• More Men Filing Sex Discrimination Suits, Statistics Show

Library for Employment Law:

• Former Executive Director of the Jefferson County Parks and Recreation Commission files lawsuit over wrongful discharge in violation of Open Governmental Proceeding Act and West Virginia Human Rights Law [PDF]   
  Former Executive Director of the Jefferson County Parks and Recreation Commission complaint alleging wrongful termination based on unlawful retaliation and discrimination
• Admissibility of electronic evidence in employment cases [PDF]   
  The Article discusses the issue of admitting into evidence emails in federal court. The author is Jocelyn D. Larkin the Director of Litigation and Training with the Impact Fund
• Article concerning the ability to contact an employee of an adverse corporation in civil litigation. [PDF]   
  The article entitled "Contacting Employee of an Adverse Corporate Party: A Plaintiff's Attorney's View" was authored by Ellen J. Messing and James S. Weliky of Messing, Rudavsky & Weliky, P.C.
• Fourth Circuit decision overturning summary judgment in an age discrimination suit. [PDF]   
  Excellent decision from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overturning the trial court's grant of summary judgment in an age discrimination law suit. The appellate court concluded there was sufficient evidence that the employer's proffered reasons for terminating the plaintiff was a pretext for unlawful age discrimination.
• Technical Assistance Manual providing disability discrimination information pertinent to the ADA   
  Technical Assistance Manual: Title 1 of the ADA. Good source of information regarding disability discrimination claims arising in the American with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Changes in COBRA law help employees maintain their health insurance after employment discharge [PDF]   
  Article explains how employers will pay 65 percent of your health insurance premium after your you are discharged.
• Employer Best Practices for Workers with Caregiving Responsibilities [PDF]   
  In 2007 the EEOC issued a guidance explaining the circumstances under which discrimination against workers with caregiving responsibilities might constitute discrimination based on sex, disability or other characteristics protected by federal employment discrimination laws. This document supplements the 2007 guidance by providing suggestions for best practices that employers may adopt to reduce the chance of EEO violations against caregivers and remove barriers to equal employment opportunities.
• American Diabetes Association Position Statement on Diabetes and Employment [PDF]   
  The statement contains helpful information concerning diabetes as a disability under employment discrimination law, reasonable accommodations for those with diabetes in the workplace and related topics.
• Small Employers and Reasonable Accommodation   
  EEOC guide to disability discrimination and reasonable accommodation with small employers under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• EEOC Guidance: Workers Compensation and the ADA   
  EEOC provides guidance for ADA claims and reasonable accommodations where issues of work related injury and non work related injury intersect.
• EEOC Enforcement Guidance Compensatory and Punitive Damages   
  EEOC Guidance regarding what compensatory and punitive damages can be awarded in a Title VII employment discrimination case.
• EEOC Enforcement Guidance Disability Related Inquiries   
  EEOC guidance on what inquires an employer can make regarding medical conditions of employees
• EEOC Enforcement Guidance Regarding Psychiatric Disabilities   
  EEOC guidance regarding employees with psychiatric disabilities
• EEOC Guidance regarding sexual favoritism in the workplace   
  EEOC Guidance regarding sexual favoritism by supervisors or employers - what is legal and what is not.
• If I was Fired Unfairly Do I Have a Case? [PDF]   
  This article list the situations where you might have a case when you are fired by your employer. A good general overview but talk to a qualified employment lawyer about your specific case facts.
• Frequently Asked Questions about the Family Medical Leave Act [PDF]   
  This document contains frequently asked questions about the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) which is a federal law that protects employees when they need to take off work because of medical conditions of the employee or close family members.
• Martinsburg Journal Article on Shepherd University case [PDF]   
  New employment case filed by Harry Waddell
• Questions and Answers About Cancer in the Workplace and the ADA [PDF]   
  EEOC Guidance Regarding Cancer and the American with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Questions and Answers About Association Discrimination Under the ADA [PDF]   
  EEOC Guidance on Association Discrimination Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

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Frequent Questions for Employment Law:

• What questions are considered discriminative on a job interview?
• Can I leave without an advance notice of leave?

Case Results for Employment Law:

• Jury verdict in favor of defamed client
• 185,000 Settlement in Employment Discrimination Suit

Awarded: $185,000

• $150,000 settlement of sexual harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination lawsuit
• $83,000 Settlement for wrongful termination of director of health department

Awarded: $83,000

• $82,500 Settlement for disability discrimination

Awarded: $82,500

• $85,000 Settlement for sexual harassment

Awarded: $85,000

• $85,000 Verdict for racial harassment

Awarded: $85,000

• $150,000 Settlement in wrongful termination case brought by store manager

Awarded: $150,000

• $400,000 Settlement in racial harassment case

Awarded: $400,000

• $500,000 Settlement in Disability Discrimination Claim Against U.S. Postal Service

Awarded: $500,000

• $14,750,000 Employment Class Action settlement for 11,000 employees of telemarketing firm

Awarded: $14,750,000

Web Resources for Employment Law:

• Business Contracts from SEC Filings

  Description: This site contains thousands of employment agreements searchable by industry and company including severance agreements, settlement agreements and many helpful documents

• California Employment Lawyers Association

  Description: Good resource website for employees with employment law questions including race and sex discrimination, disability claims, wage and hour claims, employment contract claims, public policy terminations and retaliation claims.

• Digest of federal employment law decisions from the federal circuits

  Description: Tom Garland's site is an excellent database of federal employment law decisions from around the country. It provides a good research tool for the legal practitioner and can be helpful to the non-lawyer with a question concerning employment law. Topics covered include sex and race discrimination and harassment, age and disability discrimination and harassment as well as wage and hour claims, FMLA issues and other employment related matters.

• Drew Capuder's Employment Law Blog

  Description: Drew Capuder is an experienced employment lawyer practicing in Fairmont, West Virginia whose blog contains much useful information for those with questions regarding employment issues including sex, race, age and disability discrimination in West Virginia. He is a member of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association (WVELA) a professional organization consisting of lawyers who assist and represent employees in employment related matters.

• EEOC final regulations implementing the American with Disabilities Act as Amended

  Description: The American with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 was signed into law on Spetember 25, 2008.  Final regulations have been issued by the EEOC implementing the ADAAA.  This link provides access to the final regulations as well as the text of the ADAAA, a fact sheet and questions and answers on the final rules

• EEOC final regulations implementing the American with Disabilities Act as Amended

  Description: The ADA Amendments Act final implementing regulations issued by the EEOC.  These regulations will govern the EEOC's interpretation and enforcement of the amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The amendments were passed by Congress in reaction to the Supreme Court's unduely restrictive interpretation of the provisions of the ADA.

• Employment Discrimination overview

  Description: Good overview of employment discrimination along with extra resources for more information. 

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

  Description: federal government website with information regarding employment discrimination

• Garlands-Digest.com

  Description: Garlands-Digest.com provides employment law professionals with weekly updates on new employment discrimination law cases from the U.S. Supreme Court and the federal courts of appeal.

• Introlaw.com

  Description: Introlaw.com provides articles of an introductory nature on employment discrimination law.

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