I am going to assume you have been staying up to date on my podcast. During season 2, I had an episode dedicated to mental health and a toxic workplace. We discussed how virulent work environments could play on your mental health and the effects it plays on your body as well. When you have to remember to put yourself, first! Don’t allow people who will replace you with someone else to take over your life. If you didn’t listen to this episode, please listen to it here.
I will be the first one to admit that I allowed some of my old managers and workplaces to run me to the ground! Sometimes, I thought that I had to always say yes to everything they said because I feared being fired or my hours getting cut. I was in my 20s and I thought this is what it means to be an adult to put your work above anything else. If I didn’t put my work first then I would not be able to pay my bills or buy things that made me happy. After an incident at work that happened due to my wages being incorrect, I started to do some research.
Department of Labor
Anyone who works for a company should know their state’s labor laws. When I started working for a large company in New York as a part-timer. I was putting into full-time hours with no health benefits, paid time off, etc. Within the year of being with the company, I had reached a certain threshold of hours that put me in the full-time category and the company had to offer me health benefits. One thing that I despise is when people try to make it seem that they are giving you a promotion. My manager made it seem that I was getting promoted to full-time when legally he had to give me the benefits.
A lot of companies are starting to hire their employees as independent contractors or with no true contract to avoid paid time off and health benefits. I have been reading a lot of stories about different people’s experiences in the workforce, especially after the pandemic. I would look into having a lawyer read over your contract. You want to be able to understand the contract and your employee and labor rights. Attorneys that I have researched and believe would be helpful are Vlasac and Schmaruk, LLC.
Legal Representation
As we all get back into this new normal, a lot of things have changed. You should always make sure that “all your ducks are in a row.” Companies and people are constantly changing their policies. You need to make sure that you have legal counsel to help protect you, your family, and/or your business. When looking for legal representation make sure that you do your research. Many law firms and lawyers practice specific law and may not be able to help with certain legal issues. You want to connect with them beforehand through their consultation.
Before you have your consultation with a lawyer, have your documents, facts, and questions ready. The consultation window is short and you want to be able to give enough information to the lawyer. They need to be able to assess all the information before being able to help you. For example, if you get into a car accident, Bucks County Car Accident Lawyer allow you to connect with them on a free case evaluation. This can allow you to find out if you have a case and what you should do after the accident. You always want to protect your interest and your rights.