Milwaukee Wisconsin Legal Blog

Federal law protects several specific groups from discrimination at work. While most people in Wisconsin know that it is illegal to discriminate against a worker for his or her religion or gender, two current U.S. Supreme Court cases could add another protected group -- sexual orientation. Depending on the outcome, members of the LGBTQ community could possibly pursue workplace discrimination claims in the future.

A former county government worker from Georgia and a former skydiving instructor are part of the first case. Both claim that they were fired after their employers learned of their sexual orientations. The second case involves a transgender woman who says she was fired from her position as the director of a funeral home.

If you believe you are a victim of wrongful termination, filing a claim against your employer may be your next step.

However, you have probably never done this and may feel ill-equipped to handle the matter properly. Here are five tips to help you manage the task of filing a wrongful termination claim.

Wisconsin employers are responsible for knowing and complying with the laws regarding wages, child labor and more. Unfortunately, some employers prioritize their own bottom lines over the health and safety of their workers, violating employment law in the process. An out-of-state restaurant was recently cited for these types of violations and was ordered to pay $55,288  civil penalties.

According the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, the restaurant violated multiple child labor provisions. In its state of operation, 14 is the minimum age for employment, yet it employed a 13-year-old child who suffered severe, third-degree burns at work. He had emptied hot oil from a deep fryer and was disposing of it when he tripped. Not only was the boy too young to employ, but the Fair Labor Standards Act -- the FLSA -- does not permit minors to clean fryers if the oil is 100 degrees or higher.

Workers usually have to sign some type of new-hire paperwork or contract when starting new jobs. These can be short or long documents that cover a wide range of information relevant to specific positions or companies. However, there is one thing that many of these contracts have in common -- forced arbitration clauses for those claiming workplace discrimination, sexual harassment and more. A recently passed bill could change this practice. 

Many companies in Wisconsin require their employees to address legal disputes during private arbitration that has very little government oversight. Forced arbitration makes it more difficult -- but not impossible -- for workers to seek justice in the face of discrimination or harassment. Private arbitration also typically yields much less financial compensation than if a victim were to sue his or her employer in court.