Fired, Squeezed,
or Left Short?
In most workplace disputes, the first thing that shapes your case isn’t what happened — it’s when. A federal discrimination claim usually has to reach the EEOC within 180 days, sometimes 300, and one signed severance agreement can wipe your claims out in an afternoon. Talk to an attorney who represents employees before you sign, resign, or let another week slip by.
Federal Law, Plainly
The Clock Starts
When It Happens.
Workplace rights come from a patchwork of federal statutes and state laws, and nearly every one has its own deadline, its own employer-size cutoff, and its own process. This is the frame most workers need on day one — your state may add protections on top.
Title VII, ADA, and ADEA claims generally start with a charge at the EEOC within 180 days of the act — 300 if a state or local agency enforces a similar law (for age, only a state law counts). Harassment is measured from the last incident, and wage claims run on separate clocks.
Title VII and the ADA reach employers with 15 or more employees; the ADEA, 20 or more; the FMLA, 50 within 75 miles of your worksite. Smaller employers may still be covered by state law, which often sets a lower bar.
One conversation with a connected employee-side attorney can sort out which laws apply, which dates matter, and what to do (and not do) before you sign anything — confidentially, at no charge.
“Employers know the deadlines by heart. Workers usually learn them the week they pass.”
What Counts as a Case
Situations Worth
a Second Opinion.
You don’t need a smoking gun to talk to an attorney. These are the workplace problems that most often turn out to have a legal angle — sometimes one the worker never realized was there.
Fired After Speaking Up
Terminated after reporting harassment, complaining about pay, asking for leave, or refusing to break the law? At-will employment doesn’t cover retaliation, which federal law and most state laws prohibit.
Discrimination & Harassment
Treated differently over race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age 40 or older, or disability — or subjected to a hostile environment that management ignored.
Unpaid Wages & Overtime
Salaried but working 50-hour weeks? A “manager” title doesn’t make you exempt on its own. Off-the-clock work, misclassification, and unpaid final paychecks are all common wage claims.
Leave & Accommodation Denied
Punished for taking medical or family leave, or turned down for a reasonable accommodation for a disability or pregnancy? The FMLA, ADA, and Pregnant Workers Fairness Act each set rules employers have to follow.
Severance & Restrictive Agreements
A separation agreement, non-compete, or arbitration clause can quietly trade away your rights. Reviewing it before you sign is often the cheapest legal help you’ll ever buy — and the terms are frequently negotiable.
Whistleblowing & Mass Layoffs
Reporting safety, fraud, or compliance problems can trigger protections with very short windows — some as brief as 30 days. Large layoffs may also require 60 days’ advance notice under the federal WARN Act.
A Quick Gut Check
Signs It’s Time
to Make the Call.
Most people wait too long because the situation feels murky or they’re hoping it blows over. If any of these sound familiar, a short conversation is worth it.
You were just fired, laid off, or pushed to resign
The reason given doesn’t match what you saw, or the timing is suspicious. Deadlines may already be running.
A severance agreement is sitting on your desk
Signing releases claims you may not know you have. Get it reviewed before the offer expires.
You complained, and things changed afterward
Reduced hours, a cold shoulder, a sudden bad review — a shift right after you spoke up is often how retaliation shows up.
You work more than 40 hours without overtime
Being salaried, or having a manager title, doesn’t automatically mean you’re exempt from overtime pay.
You needed leave or an accommodation and got pushback
Medical conditions, pregnancy, and family caregiving are covered by several overlapping laws.
You’re being asked to sign a non-compete or arbitration clause
Enforceability varies a lot by state. Know what you’re agreeing to before it’s a condition of the job.
What Actually Happens
Four Steps.
No Guesswork.
Every case is different, but the path usually follows the same shape. Here’s what to expect from the first call to a resolution.
Free Case Review
A connected attorney listens to what happened, identifies which laws may apply, and pins down the deadlines that matter most in your situation.
Protect the Evidence
Emails, texts, pay stubs, reviews, and the employee handbook can make or break a claim. Your attorney will tell you what to keep, and how to keep it without creating new problems.
Choose a Strategy
Depending on the facts, that might be an EEOC or state agency charge, a wage complaint, a demand letter, negotiation, arbitration, or a lawsuit.
Resolution
Most cases end in a negotiated settlement; others go through agency investigation or court. Many employee-side attorneys take cases on contingency, but fees are always agreed directly between you and your attorney.
Familiar Stories
What First Calls Often Sound Like
An employee reports a supervisor to HR. Three weeks later, her shifts are cut and a write-up appears in her file.
A salaried “assistant manager” spends most of the day stocking shelves and working registers, 55 hours a week, with no overtime.
A 58-year-old is offered ten days to sign a severance release as part of a “restructuring” that mostly affects older staff.
These are illustrative composites of situations employment attorneys frequently see. They are not client testimonials, and outcomes depend entirely on the facts and the law that applies.
Common Questions
What Workers Ask First
For most federal claims — Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA — you must first file a charge with the EEOC within 180 calendar days of the discriminatory act. That extends to 300 days if a state or local agency enforces a law banning discrimination on the same basis (for age claims, only a state law extends it). Some state agencies allow longer; California’s Civil Rights Department, for example, accepts complaints for 365 days. In harassment cases the clock runs from the last incident. After the EEOC finishes with a charge, you generally have 90 days from receiving a right-to-sue notice to file a lawsuit. A connected attorney can review your dates at no cost.
Every state except Montana presumes employment is at will, which lets an employer end it without a stated reason — but not an unlawful one. A firing can’t be based on a protected characteristic such as race, sex, religion, national origin, age 40 or older, or disability, and it can’t be retaliation for protected activity like reporting harassment, filing a wage complaint, or taking FMLA leave. Many states add limits for public-policy violations and for breach of an employment contract. An attorney can tell you which apply in your state.
Depending on the claim, remedies can include back pay, front pay or reinstatement, and attorney’s fees. For intentional discrimination under Title VII and the ADA, compensatory and punitive damages are available but capped under 42 U.S.C. 1981a by employer size: $50,000 for 15 to 100 employees, $100,000 for 101 to 200, $200,000 for 201 to 500, and $300,000 for more than 500. Back pay isn’t counted toward those caps. Wage claims under the FLSA can include unpaid wages plus an equal amount in liquidated damages, and many state laws offer remedies beyond the federal ones.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees must be paid at least one and a half times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. A job title or salary alone doesn’t make someone exempt: the white-collar exemptions require both a salary basis and a qualifying duties test. The federal salary floor for those exemptions is $684 per week ($35,568 a year) — the Department of Labor formally rescinded its 2024 increase in May 2026 — and many states set higher minimums. FLSA claims generally must be filed within two years, or three if the violation was willful. A connected attorney can look at your duties and pay.
Not before reading it closely. A severance agreement usually asks you to release legal claims in exchange for money. If you are 40 or older and the release covers age discrimination, the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act requires that you be given at least 21 days to consider it (45 days if the offer is part of a group layoff, with extra disclosures) and 7 days after signing to revoke. Workers under 40 have no such federal guarantee, so pay, references, non-disparagement, and non-compete language are often negotiable. Have an attorney review it before you commit.
To be eligible for the federal Family and Medical Leave Act you must have worked for your employer for at least 12 months, have logged at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before leave starts, and work at a site with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for qualifying family or medical reasons. Interfering with leave or retaliating for using it is unlawful, and FMLA lawsuits generally must be filed within two years, or three for willful violations. Some states have their own, broader leave laws.
It depends on your state. The FTC’s 2024 nationwide non-compete ban was set aside by a federal court in Ryan LLC v. FTC, and the FTC dropped its appeal in September 2025, so there is no federal ban in effect. Enforceability is decided by state law, which varies widely: some states, like California, largely refuse to enforce non-competes, while others enforce them if they are reasonable in duration, geography, and scope. Read it with an attorney before you sign it, and before you take a new job.
Often arbitration agreements are enforceable, so many employment claims end up in arbitration instead of court. There is an important exception: the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, signed March 3, 2022, lets a worker choose to void a pre-dispute arbitration agreement and class waiver for sexual harassment and sexual assault disputes that arise on or after that date. It does not reach other kinds of claims, so what your agreement covers matters. A connected attorney can check yours.
Don’t Let the
Clock Run.
A private conversation about what happened at work — free, and with zero pressure to move forward.