One of the most common reasons people are unhappy at work is sexual harassment. This is by no means an overstatement.  Sexual harassment is much more prevalent than you’d think. The few stories that make it to the press are just the tip of a huge iceberg. It is estimated that 70% of sexual harassment cases go unreported. Not because they’re not serious enough, but because victims are afraid of the consequences if they speak out. It shouldn’t be like this. The only way to eradicate sexual harassment is to stand up for yourself. And go see a lawyer! 

In the state of Virginia, any form of sex-based discrimination is prohibited under the Human Rights Act. If you are being discriminated against based on your sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, that is illegal. This means that people who engage in this type of behavior should face the consequences. If a guy robs you in an alley, you’ll expect him to go to jail for that. It’s the same thing. If a guy harasses you at work, he deserved to be punished for that. They don’t send people to jail for that, except in extreme cases, but they should be disciplined for their behavior. 

How can sexual harassment lawyers help you? First of all, they can explain exactly what the law says. Technically, that would be the employer’s job, but since it is not mandatory for Virginia business owners to have an anti-discrimination policy in place, many don’t bother with that.

However, all employers, public or private, are required by law to investigate any sexual harassment complaint brought to their attention. If you haven’t already done that, seasoned employment lawyers will advise you to do that right away, and they’ll help you formulate your complaint.  You should file your complaint with the HR or at least talk to your employer about your problems. In some cases, employers understand this is serious and take disciplinary measures against those responsible.

If they don’t, you’ve done all you could to settle the issue quietly. Now you are entitled to file a formal complaint with the Virginia Human Rights Commission or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which is the federal body that has the power to investigate discrimination complaints.

When you get to this point, Virginia sexual harassment lawyers will advise you what you need to write in your complaint and what proof you need to bring. What you need to know is that you only have 180 days to report a sexual harassment incident. If you miss the deadline, the EEOC might dismiss your case, so you don’t have much time.

As for the evidence needed to substantiate your claims, don’t worry about that too much. When the EEOC investigates a case, they can summon witnesses, examine security footage or demand to see paperwork that might be relevant to your complaint. 

Also, they have the power to mediate a settlement and award you damages for all your suffering. 

Under the Illinois Human Rights Act, all employees have the right to work in a safe environment, free from sexual harassment or sex-based discrimination. The act not only prohibits sexual harassment, but also instructs employers on the steps they need to take to ensure their employees’ rights are fully protected. For instance, businesses are required to issue an employee handbook detailing the company’s policy on sexual harassment and the procedure to follow when filing a complaint. If your company has not provided you with such a handbook and you don’t know what to do, you need to talk to a lawyer and see what options you have.

According to the law, making crude jokes or lewd remarks with a sexual overtone constitutes sexual harassment, if these things happen often enough to create a hostile work environment. The law also prohibits the display of obscene images or drawings around the office, or sending them through email or messaging apps to an employee, with malicious intent. Unwanted sexual advances are also unlawful, as are requests for sexual favors.

When you get in touch with some skilled sexual harassment lawyers they’ll advise you on how you should react when someone is harassing you at work. Some try to pretend they didn’t hear anything or that they don’t care. Basically, it’s the same attitude most kids adopt when they’re bullied in the schoolyard. It won’t help you as your tormentors will double their efforts to make you uncomfortable. Their jokes will become more vicious and it might escalate to inappropriate touching and groping, as they’ll want to find your breaking point. 

What you need to do is object and let your coworkers know you find their conduct offensive and they should stop.

Experienced employment lawyers also recommend documenting such incidents, by writing down who was present and what they said. You’ll need all the proof you can gather when it’s time to make a formal complaint. Also, making a list of those present, even if they did not take part in the incident, will be useful as you’ll need witnesses to corroborate your claim and speak on your behalf if the case goes to trial.

The next step is to notify your supervisor or employer of the type of behavior you’re subjected to.

If it’s your boss that’s harassing you, you don’t have anyone to complain to. However, you should file a written complaint with the HR. They won’t be able to help you as it’s their boss, too, but it’s a useful document to have when you take legal action.

If your employer chooses to ignore your complaint, knowledgeable Illinois sexual harassment lawyers will help you formulate a complaint with the state Department of Human Rights. Your attorneys will support you during the mediation process and help you calculate damages.You can seek compensation for lost wages, as well as punitive damages for all the mental suffering the whole situation caused you. If an agreement cannot be reached, your attorneys will probably advise you to file a lawsuit. 

A trust is a legal relationship where someone trusts someone else to manage their estate or assets on behalf of someone else. Trust is like a will. The difference is that an inheritance will is functional after one becomes deceased, while a trust can take effect even when the person is alive.

A trust allows you to distribute assets and estates while still having some control over them. It is good to note that it is not a document. Although, a trust document is drafted to create a trust.

There are two types of trust, revocable and irrevocable. From the names, you can tell the difference. There is also a living trust that is used in managing your property while you are still alive. The other one is a testamentary trust that comes to life through a will and only becomes effective when one becomes deceased.

It is vital to hire an attorney to help you set up a trust. Their expertise and knowledge will save you and your beneficiaries from losing money. Contact our Professional Salt Lake City Estate Planning Lawyers. They will give you legal advice and guide you on the right way to set up a trust.

Reasons for having a trust 

• Trust has more flexibility than a will
• It protects assets for children who are not yet mature, keeping the assets safe till they are of age
• It saves one much money through evasion of the probate process
• With all the taxation that falls on an estate, having an irrevocable trust can protect you or your loved ones from hefty taxes. Even so, it is essential to consult with a tax lawyer or an estate planning lawyer
• A trust allows for privacy in the family because once the probate process starts, all the family business becomes public
• If the settlor is not in a position to manage assets, maybe because of a health issue, the trust allows for easy management

Circumstances That Will Require You to Hire a Trust Attorney

Setting up a trust can be pretty expensive and even complex to draft down. Hiring a conviction can cause a dent in one’s pocket. For this reason, some people choose to draw up the trust document themselves, use software to look into it and probably run it by an estate planning lawyer.

However, below are some circumstances that may force you to hire an attorney:

• You have a child with a unique condition
• You have a vast estate to run
• Your estate’s net worth is near tax exemption
• It would help if you had legal advice concerning the trust
• You have certain conditions to put in place before the beneficiaries receive their share

Contact the Best Estate Planning Lawyers

Are you in Utah and are looking to set up a trust? Trust us with being your legal advisors. We pride ourselves as the best Salt Lake City estate planning lawyers. Our references are evidence of the excellent work.

You can call us any day and get free consultation services.

In recent weeks and months, homeowners in Oklahoma have been mostly concerned with the “normal” extreme weather events; things like tornados, hailstorms, and floods. But with the Sooner State now facing considerable heat waves, some residents are wondering whether this type of extreme weather can also have an impact on their houses. The truth is that heatwaves can cause damage to your home, and it’s important to be prepared. 

Of course, even if your home does suffer damage as a result of these extreme weather events, you can still file an insurance claim and get the compensation you need to make repairs and replace damaged items… or can you? Many homeowners in Oklahoma are discovering that their insurance claims aren’t quite as reliable as they expected. Insurance companies have a tendency to deny claims for no reason and provide inadequate settlements. This is why it might be a good idea to enlist the help of an attorney who has experience with denied insurance claims. 

Oklahoma is Facing Serious Heat Waves

In June of 2021, it was reported that several stranded motorists had to be rescued in Oklahoma after a heatwave completely disabled their vehicles. Heatwaves have the potential to impact car batteries, tires, coolant, and other components. Around that same time, EMSA Medical Heat Alert announced a number of heat-related emergencies in Oklahoma City. 

How Do Heatwaves Impact Properties?

These heatwaves can clearly affect vehicles and people, but can these weather events also impact our properties? Perhaps the most important potential effect is on your roof. Extreme heat can cause the wood rafters to expand, and at a certain point, the roof will not be able to handle this. The flashing is what usually takes the most damage during a heatwave. In addition, heatwaves can cause wooden flooring to expand and buckle over time. If combined with humidity, heatwaves can also cause the growth of mold and mildew in your home, especially in dark crawlspaces. On a much grander scale, there is even speculation that climate change and increasing temperatures could cause another dust bowl for Oklahoma. Although no one today probably remembers the dust bowl era, this period of extreme drought caused entire towns to be abandoned and homes were literally left in the dust. 

Enlist the Help of a Qualified Attorney Today

If you’re dealing with issues related to your homeowner’s insurance policy in Oklahoma, you might want to get in touch with a qualified, experienced attorney in Oklahoma. These legal professionals can help you get the compensation you need for property damage incurred during storms and heatwaves. Reach out today, book your consultation, and make sure that you’re approaching this matter in the most efficient way possible. 

Gainesville, FL—Asbestos is “a group of naturally occurring minerals that are resistant to heat and corrosion.”¹ While this group of minerals can be found in many products, particularly those used at construction sites, asbestos is considered a health hazard, according to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), and can lead to a person suffering from one or more of the following conditions when they are exposed to it:

• Asbestosis. Asbestosis happens when a person breathes in asbestos fibers which then causes scar-like tissue to build up in the lungs. A person who suffers from asbestosis likely loses lung function and may become disabled. According to OSHA, asbestosis can also cause death.
• Lung cancer. 
• Mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is one type of cancer that “occurs in the thin layer of tissue that covers the majority of [a person’s] internal organs.”² Mesothelioma is considered an “aggressive and deadly form of cancer” that is treatable but cannot be cured.

Because asbestos has been linked to serious health conditions, employers are required to “provide personal exposure monitoring to assess the risk and hazard awareness training for operations where there is any potential exposure to asbestos.” Employers are also required to never allow individuals to work around airborne levels of asbestos that “exceed legal worker exposure limits.”

If the event an individual was exposed to asbestos and passed away as a result, certain surviving family members may be entitled to file a wrongful death lawsuit on their behalf and recover compensation for the following:

• Loss of benefits
• Loss of care
• Loss of companionship
• Pain and suffering
• Medical expenses
• Funeral expenses

Because employers are aware of the dangers associated with working around asbestos and are expected to meet certain safety regulations, they can sometimes be held liable for the death of an individual if they violated one or more safety standards. 

Find Out How Koberlein Law Offices Can Help With Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit

When an individual passes away from asbestos exposure in Florida, it isn’t always clear who the liable party is. When a family chooses to hire a Gainesville, FL wrongful death lawyer to help with their case, they will not only determine who is responsible for their loved one’s death, but they will also help the surviving family fight for the financial relief they are due.

Losing a loved one on account of someone else’s negligence isn’t easy to accept and while money cannot bring them back or undo the chain of events that led to their passing, it can help the surviving family afford unexpected expenses that arose. If a family is looking to obtain justice and closure after losing their loved one, they can contact Koberlein Law Offices for legal advice and help.

Koberlein Law Offices can be reached at any of their office locations listed down below:

855 SW Baya Drive

Lake City, FL 32025

Phone: 386-269-9802

Website: www.klo-attorneys.com

118 Ohio Avenue N, Suite A

Live Oak, FL 32064

Phone: 386-516-2626

8443 SW 14 Lane

Gainesville, FL 32607

Phone: 352-519-4357

Source:

• https://www.osha.gov/asbestos 
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mesothelioma/symptoms-causes/syc-20375022