Is It Worth Finding Employment Lawyers Near Me?

If you have experienced unemployment in the past few years, rest assured that you are not alone.  It is something that a lot of us have been grappling with all across the world.  Here in the United States though, especially, it has been incredibly taxing on us as a whole.  

Part of this is due to how complicated claiming unemployment compensation has been.  Depending on where you are in the States, you have probably had a different experience.  However, for most of us, it has been incredibly frustrating.  I had threats of mine being canceled so many times, even though it was never valid.  That is just one example of what we have been dealing with.

Obviously, there are plenty more instances and examples of these sorts of situations.  This is just one example of it: https://time.com/nextadvisor/in-the-news/waiting-on-unemployment-benefits/.  Rest assured, there are others as well.  Often, if we are in a frustrating moment like this, it can feel hopeless.

That is my main motivation for writing this article today.  I think that if we educate ourselves on the options that we have to tackle problems like this, it can be quite helpful. So, if you are not familiar with employment lawyers and want to learn more, this might be the post for you.

 The Breakdown on Employment Law

Now, let us start from the beginning.  What is employment law, and why are there attorneys who specialize in this?  Well, in essence, it is a part of the legislature that handles how employers treat their workers.  This means that there are a few different facets here, and some professionals specialize in certain ones over others.

The most common three are pension disputes, discrimination cases, and sorting out problems with unemployment compensation.  Obviously, as you can probably tell, I am largely focusing on the latter today.  However, it is still good to be cognizant of the other aspects of this.

So, if you find yourself seeking out employment lawyers near me, you may want to ask what their niche is.  However, if it is already listed on their website or business card, that is likely not necessary.  Either way, you should look for someone that you click with.  After all, you are entrusting some of your future to them.

A lot of the details in terms of employment law can get quite sticky.  It is hard to imagine trying to read some of the actual documents on our own if we have never studied in the field.  The sheer level of jargon is rather overwhelming.  Unfortunately, this means that many people end up not knowing their rights.  It is hard to fight for something we do not know about, right?

 Why This is so Important

Perhaps you are still wondering why this is such a big deal.  That is certainly a valid question, so let me take a moment to explain.  Perhaps checking out some statistics might help.

A lot of people have jobs again following the aftermath of the covid 19 pandemic.  However, not everyone has recovered financially or emotionally.  Still more are left stranded without stable work.  

The current unemployment rate in the United States as of September 2022 is three-point five percent.  You can see some evidence of this here: https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/unemployment-rate.  It might not seem like a bad figure, but when you consider that this is over five million people, the importance of this aspect of legislature starts to become clearer.

It is also wholly possible that you are a part of that statistic.  Maybe you have been fighting to get unemployment compensation for years.  Some states grossly mishandled some of the funding they received from the federal government.  In fact, in Pennsylvania, millions of dollars were stolen through some of their programs due to the insecurity of their websites.

This problem is not going to go away.  As we rapidly approach what looks to be another recession, so many people are left worried about their futures.  Without that guarantee of being able to remain afloat even if we get laid off, these fears get even worse.  So, that is probably the biggest reason that this is so very important on a wider scale.

What else is there, then?  The next thing I will cover is fair wages in general.  I am sure that this is also something that hits close to home for several people reading this.  Employment law is able to protect these rights to fair wages, even if our federal minimum wage is still incredibly  low.  Some states have raised the bar.

This directly affects the money that ends up in our wallets.  Remember that employers are not allowed to use discriminatory practices when it comes to pay rates.  It is something that often slips under the radar, unfortunately.  Fighting for fair pay can even feel impossible, similar to the other situations I have outlined earlier, which you can read more about here.

Perhaps that is why so many more folks are leaning towards working with employment lawyers these days.  I know a certain crowd might say that it is the “woke police” trying to prevent these discrimination cases, but it can create an unproductive and problematic workspace.  It is hardly a secret that most humans tend to work better when they are not feeling threatened.

This type of legislature is also there to establish safe business practices to allow employees to feel secure in their places of employment.  It might not seem overly relevant to something like an office job (though there are considerations that employers have to make here), but for factories and other more dangerous professions, it makes a world of a difference.

While this type of law might not be covered a lot, I hope that you have learned something today.  The research on this is quite fascinating, for one thing, and it is always a good thing to broaden our horizons.  For those of you who are still uncertain, maybe this article has inspired you!