Optional · 1 of 3

What employment lawyers actually work on

• Discrimination and harassment

  Race, sex, age, disability, religion, pregnancy and retaliation claims. The biggest single slice of the field.

• Wages and hours

  Unpaid overtime, misclassifying employees as contractors, stolen tips. Often brought as a group case for a whole workforce.

• Wrongful termination and severance

  Negotiating an exit, or arguing that a firing broke a contract or a law.

• Leave and accommodation

  Medical leave, disability accommodations and return-to-work disputes.

• Noncompete and trade secret fights

  Whether an employer can stop you working for a competitor. The rules differ sharply by state.