Employment Law

Whatcom County Employment Law Attorney

Helping Clients Facing Complex Employment Legal Issues in Washington State

At Coppinger Law P.S., we provide counsel primarily for employees adversely affected by workplace injustice. We address legal issues and lawsuits involving wrongful termination, discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, and wage-hour disputes in both state and federal courts. We are committed to guiding our clients through the legal process in a manner that best suits our clients’ needs, whether that be by negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or courtroom trials.

We also review and negotiate severance agreements, appeal unemployment benefits denials, and file administrative complaints with the Human Rights Commission, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and other relevant agencies.

Please contact our Washington law office today to learn more about the benefits of our legal services and how we can hold employers accountable for their misdeeds or assist you in contracts and other types of negotiations. Our legal team has extensive experience and is well-versed in both federal and state laws related to employment law and similar practice areas. We would be proud to represent your interests in these and other related issues in both state and federal courts to pursue the most optimal outcome for your legal matters. Contact our law office to request a case review today.

What Types of Employment Law Cases Does Our Lawyer Represent?

Our law firm and legal staff represent clients in various employment and labor law issues across Whatcom County. We are knowledgeable in state laws, including minimum wage requirements, hour violations, and company regulations, making us uniquely qualified to represent your interests in administrative proceedings and other employment law cases.

We have a comprehensive understanding of employment law-related issues, such as the following:

  • Accommodations for disabilities and the failure to provide those accommodations
  • Appellate courts, where decisions made by judges and administrative agencies will be reviewed
  • Assistance drafting, reviewing, and challenging non-compete agreements and other forms of restrictive covenants
  • Discrimination cases where an individual with a protected characteristic believes they have been discriminated against in the workplace
  • Disputes over professional licenses, including investigating the circumstances surrounding legal matters where a license is suspended
  • Employment agreements, including contract negotiations
  • Hostile work environment matters, including workplace harassment of a sexual, verbal, or physical nature
  • Illegal retaliation cases, such as cases where employees report safety violations, government misconduct, or fraud, and face unlawful consequences as a result
  • Issues related to meal and rest breaks
  • Legal representation for public employees who have legal issues with government employers
  • Severance negotiations, reviews, and disputes
  • Violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act
  • Whistleblower complaints, including protection from illegal retaliation
  • Worker benefits cases, such as instances of wrongfully denied benefits, retirement pay, disability benefits, and sick leave
  • Wrongful termination cases, including discharging employees for refusing to commit illegal actions
  • Wage-hour complaints and claims of unpaid overtime
  • And other forms of employment and business litigation

Even if you do not see your particular legal matter listed above, we encourage you to contact our law office to speak with our attorney and her legal team.

What Qualifies as Sexual Harassment in the Workplace?

According to some recent studies, approximately 40% of women in the workplace claimed to have been sexually harassed by their colleagues or superiors. Men have also faced sexual harassment at their place of employment.

Workplace sexual harassment can take many forms, including inappropriate dialogue about sex, unwanted touching or groping, and unrequested commentary about a person’s physical appearance. Sexual harassment of these and other sorts is illegal in the Washington State workplace. If you believe you have been the victim of sexual harassment at work, we strongly recommend you reach out to our law office to speak with the attorney about your case.

Examples of sexual harassment in the workplace include the following:

  • Asking intrusive questions about a colleague’s sexual history or personal preferences in the bedroom
  • Displaying sexually explicit images and videos in the workplace for all to see
  • Emailing or texting sexually suggestive content and imagery
  • Illegal harassment does not need to be expressly sexual. The unlawful harassment could include offensive comments about a person’s sex or gender, such as making rude comments about women in general
  • Making sexually suggestive body movements or facial expressions
  • Physical harassment and sexual assault, including and extending to instances of rape
  • Requests or demands for sexual favors in exchange for promotions and other favorable treatment in the workplace, and other forms of quid pro quo harassment
  • Spreading sexual rumors and gossip about workers
  • The use of sexually degrading slurs and offensive language
  • Unwanted hugging, kissing, or touching of private parts
  • Unwelcome sexual advances, particularly when an individual is turned away or denied, and continues regardless
  • Using one’s body to block or restrict the movement of another individual, or otherwise invading their personal space in a way that is threatening
  • Verbal harassment of a sexual nature, such as making lewd comments about another person’s body

Sexual harassment can have many profound effects on an individual’s well-being, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, fatigue, insomnia, low self-esteem, and poor job performance.

Our law firm will review all the evidence of your sexual harassment case and consider all legal options to help you hold the offending party accountable for their actions.

What is Considered Workplace Discrimination in Washington State?

Washington State has strict anti-discrimination laws that make it illegal for an employer or colleague to discriminate against a worker based on their membership in a protected class. In Washington, employers cannot fire, refuse to hire, provide unequal pay, demote, reprimand, or perform any other adverse action against an employee simply because they are a member of a protected class.

Protected classes include the following:

  • Age, if over 40
  • Disability
  • Gender identity
  • Immigration status or citizenship
  • Marital status
  • Military or veteran status
  • National origin
  • Pregnancy
  • Race
  • Religion or creed
  • Sex or gender
  • Sexual orientation
  • Skin color
  • The use of a service animal by a disabled person

If employers treat their employees unfairly based on any of their protected characteristics, the employee may have a valid claim for workplace discrimination. Workplace discrimination can take the form of worker benefits and compensation changes, failure to promote or otherwise demote an individual, wrongful discharge, unfair layoffs, and failure to hire an individual because of their protected class.

Washington also prohibits discrimination in the form of retaliation. If employees report discrimination and their employer takes adverse action against them, this may be an example of workplace retaliation.

What Constitutes a Wrongful Termination in Washington?

Most private sector employees in Washington State are employees at will, meaning that they or their employer can terminate the working relationship for any reason and at any time, provided that the reason is legal. A wrongful termination is firing an employee in violation of the law or public policy. For example, if an employer fires an employee illegally, this may be considered a wrongful termination. Not all firings or discharges are wrongful or illegal, even when the employers act unfairly or fail to give a reason for the dismissal. It can be complicated to determine whether a discharge qualifies as wrongful termination, and you may require the legal assistance of an experienced attorney to review the case.

In wrongful termination cases, the plaintiff must usually establish four key elements. First, the plaintiff must establish the existence of a clear mandate of public policy. Then, the plaintiff must prove that engaging in their requested conduct would have jeopardized public policy. The plaintiff must then prove that their decision not to violate public policy resulted in their dismissal. Finally, the defendant must be unable to provide any other legal justification for the dismissal.

Our law firm has the education, experience, and knowledge necessary to determine whether you have a valid wrongful termination case and help you through the legal process of holding your employers accountable. To learn more, please contact our office today.

What Forms of Evidence May Prove Valuable in an Employment Law Case?

You must present convincing evidence to prove your claims and win your case. Your employment attorney will investigate your case, gather helpful evidence, speak with witnesses, and employ the help of professionals to present a strong case.

Valuable types of evidence that could be useful in an employment discrimination claim may include the following:

  • Electronic communications and other forms of written dialogue. If there is any evidence of discrimination in text messages, letters, handwritten notes, or emails, this could be used to prove your case against an employer or supervisor
  • Performance reviews. When a worker is unfairly discharged with seemingly no reason and claims that they were fired because of their protected class, they may be able to point to past performance reviews that show they were a good employee and thus undeserving of the dismissal
  • Security footage and footage from cell phones. If surveillance cameras or witnesses filmed the instances of sexual harassment or other forms of workplace discrimination, that video evidence can be especially damning and can help prove your case against your employers
  • Timesheets. If you have been the victim of unfair compensation or if your employers have violated wage and hour rules, you can use timesheets and other workplace records to prove your case
  • Witness statements. If any eyewitnesses saw the unlawful actions take place, such as coworkers, friends, or family members, their statements could prove valuable to corroborate the plaintiff’s story

Contact Our Office to Schedule a Consultation with Our Attorney Today

If you are facing complex legal matters in employment or labor law, we strongly recommend contacting experienced Washington employment law attorneys. Our law firm has years of experience representing clients in various employment matters, ranging from discrimination cases to contract disputes and negotiations. Whatever type of legal issue brings you to our doors, we will provide the steadfast legal representation you require to take you through the process in hopes of achieving a satisfactory outcome.

Lead attorney Carrie M. Coppinger and her legal team believe in providing compassionate, communicative, and cooperative legal services to clients, always keeping them informed throughout the legal process so they are never surprised by new developments. When you come to our law office for legal counsel, you’re getting more than just a lawyer; you’re getting a partner.

Contact our law office to schedule your no-obligation case evaluation with our attorney today. You may reach us at 360-685-7955.