Oregon Employment Attorney Representing Employees

Law Office of W. Blake Simms

5320 SW Macadam Avenue Portland, Oregon 97239 USA

 (888) 449-3714

www.wbsimmslaw.com
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Law Firm Overview Free Consultation

The Law Office of W. Blake Simms represents employees in workplace disputes. We provide assertive, responsive representation in a wide range of matters within the employment law practice area. This includes representing employees in matters involving wrongful termination, unpaid wages, overtime, non-compete agreements, sexual harassment, age discrimination, and retaliation. We also represent clients in connection with employment contracts, employment discrimination (gender, race, disability, national origin, religion, age etc.), and severance packages. We attempt to resolve matters informally, but, if litigation is warranted, we will file a court action for violations of state and/or federal employment laws.

We offer representation on contingency. We also offer free case evaluations. The most efficient way to allow us to evaluate a claim is for the employee to submit via E-mail a case summary. We will then contact the employee with a response.

Year this Office was Established: 2002

Practice Areas

Additional Practice Areas: Breach of Employment Contract; Family and Medical Leave Act; Retaliation; Non-competition Agreements; Overtime - Unpaid Wages; Sabranes-Oxley Act of 2002; Title VII (Race, Gender, National Origin, Religion); Age Discrimination; Disability Discrimination

Practice Areas Description

The Law Office of W. Blake Simms has handled claims in each of the following areas.

- Wrongful Termination

Wrongful termination, like the term "employment law", is a very broad description of a number of different types of employment claims. A termination is wrongful, i.e., illegal, only if it violates a statute or some common law theory of liability or is a breach of an employment contract. Most non-government employees in the United States are at-will employees. This means either the employer or employee can terminate the employment relationship for any reason, other than for one that falls within one of the few exceptions to the at-will doctrine. For instance, an employer who terminates an employee on the basis of race has violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This is because Title VII makes a termination on the basis of race illegal.

- Breach of Employment Contracts

Our office has extensive experience drafting and negotiating the terms of employment contracts. We have a great deal of experience analyzing and litigating purported “for-cause” terminations. We have represented clients in numerous breach of contract actions, including wrongful termination, wrongful failure to pay wages due under the contract, etc.

- Sexual Harassment

The prohibition of gender discrimination in Title VII also gives rise to the legal claim of sexual harassment. There are two types of sexual harassment. The first is quid pro quo sexual harassment. The second is hostile workplace sexual harassment. Both are illegal.

- Family and Medical Leave Act

The Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) allows for certain employees to take off up to twelve weeks per year to recover from a serious medical condition or to assist a close relative in doing so. The FMLA applies to only employees who have worked for the employer in question for at least one year. The employee must also, during that year, work a certain number of hours. Further, the FMLA applies to only employers with 50 or more employees at the site at which the employee works.

- Retaliation

The term “retaliation”, in a legal sense, applies to only a small subset of all the actions one might view as retaliation. An employee has a claim for retaliation only if he/she engages in protected activity. For instance, reporting a belief an employer is discriminating on the basis of race, gender, national origin, religion, age, or disability is protected activity. It is illegal for an employer to terminate an employee for engaging in such protected conduct.

- Non-Competition Agreements

Some employers enter into with certain employees non-competition agreements. These agreements are alternatively called “non-compete agreements”, “covenants to not compete”, “non-solicitation agreements”, “anti-piracy agreements”, etc. There is, however, a distinction between non-compete agreements and non-solicitation agreements. Our office has drafted, reviewed, negotiated, and litigated in court many non-competiton agreements.

- Overtime - Unpaid Wages

There are several laws that touch upon an employer’s obligation to pay wages. In Arizona, the most important are Arizona Wage Payment Act and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. We have a great deal of experience in representing clients in actions under the Arizona Wage Payment Act and the FLSA.

- Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

Congress, in the wake of the Enron and Worldcom scandals, passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Act creates for public companies myriad reporting and disclosure requirements. In terms of its impact on employment law, Sarbanes-Oxley makes it illegal for an employer to terminate an employee for disclosing any act the employee believes to be a law relating to fraud against shareholders. Our law firm has represented multiple clients with Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower issues.

- Discrimination on the basis of Race, Gender, National Origin, and/or Religion

Under federal law, it is unlawful for an employer to “discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1).

- Age Discrimination

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA") makes it illegal to discriminate against individuals 40 years or older with respect to the terms and conditions of their employment. That is, an employer cannot terminate, demote, or take any other adverse action against an individual because of his/her age. The ADEA allows for economic and liquidated damages. An employee who believes he/she has been the subject of such discrimination must, if they want to pursue a claim under the ADEA, file with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission a charge of discrimination.

- Disability Discrimination

The Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals who have a disability. 42 U.S.C. § 12112(A). The definition of disability under the ADA is "(A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual; (B) a record of such an impairment; or (C) being regarded as having such an impairment." 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2). The ADA is a very complicated law that has provided to employees very little in the way of relief. Recent amendments to the ADA, the intent of which was to make the ADA more employee-friendly, may end up altering the existing dynamics of the law.

Attorneys

Mr. W. Blake Simms Attorney Employment

More Information on Law Office of W. Blake Simms

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