Arizona Employment Attorneys
The Employment Lawyer Network can get you in contact with an Arizona-based employment attorney who can help you determine a path forward from the wrongful conduct you’ve faced in the workplace. The network provides you with attorneys who have handled cases similar to yours before and thus can advise you on your best course of action. You can take action today with the assistance of an employment attorney, and seek recourse for the misconduct you’ve faced.
Filing a Complaint of Discrimination in Arizona
As a worker in Arizona, you have the option to file with the Arizona Civil Rights Division or the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. However, your choice may be constrained by the size of the company you have a complaint against, and the number of days since the violation occurred. The EEOC exempts employers with less than 15 employees from federal law, but Arizona law does apply to some employers with less than 15 workers. For this reason, you should file with the Civil Rights Division of Arizona if your employer is small, but consulting with an Arizona-based employment attorney is wise to do before filing any complaint. There’s no time to waste—the CRD has a time limit of 180 days to file a complaint since the last purported violation (act of discrimination, retaliation, and/or sexual harassment) occurred, and the EEOC has varying time limits, some of which are also 180 days and some of which are 300 days. However, it should be noted that in the case of wrongful termination, you have one year from the date of your termination to file an action in Arizona.
Protected Classes in Arizona
The Arizona Civil Rights Act and federal law prohibit discrimination based on the following protected categories:
- Race
- Color
- National Origin
- Sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation)
- Religion/Creed
- Age (40 years or older)
- Physical/mental disability
- Pregnancy
- Retaliation
- Genetic testing information
It should be noted that alcohol or drug use is not considered a disability.
Additionally, it is not just your employer whom Arizona prohibits from discriminating against you: employment agencies and labor unions could also face penalties for it. You might be entitled to, as the Arizona Civil Rights Division lists on its website, “employment, reinstatement, back pay, promotion, or lost benefits,” as a result of discriminatory action taken against you, which is why it is paramount that you consult an Arizona employment attorney in order to determine next steps.
Wrongful Termination in Arizona
As stated previously, the time limit for filing an action in Arizona because of wrongful termination is one year, and thus, is much longer than other forms of discrimination and wrongful conduct in the workplace. If you’ve been fired and you suspect your employment rights may have been violated, it is smart for you to consult with an employment attorney and read the below information to get informed of your rights.
Most private-sector jobs in Arizona are at-will, which means that an employer or employee can terminate the employee’s job without cause. However, you can still be a victim of wrongful termination in this state. An at-will worker is not bound by an employment contract signed by the employee and employer, which outlines specific aspects of your job such as length of employment. Even though federal discrimination laws don’t apply to business with under 15 employees, state laws apply to certain small businesses. It is important to consult resources such as an Arizona-based employment attorney to figure out if your employment rights have been violated and if your employer can be held accountable.
At-will employees and contract-bound employees can both be wrongfully terminated. Both can face wrongful termination based on their membership in one of the protected classes stated earlier, and a contracted employee’s rights can be violated when they are fired without cause before the end of their employment contact. If your termination fits one of these descriptions, you should certainly seek a consultation from an employment attorney in Arizona, if that is where your company is based. An attorney might advise you to file a complaint with either the EEOC or the Civil Rights Division of Arizona, and ultimately, file a lawsuit, depending on your individual circumstances. If you are a whistleblower on unsafe or illegal work practices at your place of employment, you should know that you are a member of a protected class and you cannot be retaliated against for such action. Another situation the State Bar of Arizona describes as wrongful termination is the following: “If a public sector employer violates specific rights granted to public sector employees by federal constitution, state statute or other government regulations or contracts.”
If you are in a situation in your workplace where you’ve faced wrongful conduct such as retaliation, sexual harassment or discrimination and are not sure where to turn, don’t be afraid to consult an employment attorney, because you cannot face retaliation from your employer for doing so. Be sure to alert your supervisor to acts of discrimination or harassment you’ve faced, and even after doing so, it is worth it to consult an Arizona employment attorney to not only discuss the wrongful act(s) you’re facing, but also your employer’s response to it. Call 800-646-4621 to get started today.