Wilkes-Barre Employment Lawyers

For more than 40 years, the Wilkes-Barre employment lawyers at The Gold Law Firm P.C. have dedicated their careers to protecting workers’ rights. We have successfully brought many types of claims to settlement for our clients, including the following:

Age discrimination
Disability discrimination and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) violations
Employment discrimination
LGBTQ discrimination and sex orientation/gender identity discrimination
Pregnancy discrimination
Severance agreements
Sexual harassment
Whistleblower claims and retaliation in the workplace
Wrongful termination

Our law firm is exclusively focused on representing workers and employers in employment-related litigation in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. We are highly experienced in bringing claims under federal civil rights laws as well as federal and state anti-discrimination laws.

Employment Discrimination

Employment discrimination occurs when workers are treated differently or less fairly than other workers for reasons that have nothing to do with their abilities to do their jobs. Federal law makes it illegal to treat workers unfairly because of race, religion, national origin, age, disability, or sex, including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity. These categories are sometimes referred to as protected classes. It is illegal to discriminate against a protected class of workers in all phases of the employment process. It is also illegal for managers or co-workers to harass a worker based on their protected class.

Employers are also barred from retaliating against employees who complain about job discrimination. Our Wilkes-Barre employment attorneys have represented many employees who experienced the demeaning consequences of workplace discrimination. We have successfully recovered damages on behalf of employees and held their employers accountable for their illegal actions.

Wrongful Termination

Employers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey can terminate employees for many reasons; this is called at-will employment. However, employers may not violate any written employment contracts when terminating employees, nor may employees be wrongfully terminated solely based on discrimination, the result of retaliation, or the employee’s refusal to perform an illegal or harmful act. We advocate for the rights of workers who believe they have been wrongfully terminated. We are experienced at assessing the validity of wrongful termination claims and will vigorously pursue settlements to cover back wages, as well as punitive and compensatory damages.

Severance Agreements

Employees who are being fired or laid off are often asked to sign a severance agreement. It is perfectly legal for employers to do this. However, under some conditions, workers have the right to ask a lawyer to review the agreement before signing. Unfortunately, too many workers are quick to sign severance agreements that offer severance pay. Severance agreements are legally binding contracts that may require employees to give up important rights. If signing a severance agreement requires waiving rights that are protected under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, employees have 21 days to consult an attorney. Our Wilkes-Barre employment lawyers can review your severance agreement for opportunities to strengthen it in your favor.