The Chicago class action lawyers at Harvey L. Walner & Associates regularly represent employees and retirees who have suffered damages caused by employers who have violated employment, labor, and pension laws.
Our attorneys have handled a wide variety of class action employment law cases involving:
- Disability/healthcare benefits – We have successfully held employers accountable for damages caused when they reduced or denied benefits promised to employees and retirees.
- Employment discrimination – Several laws have been enacted which prevent employers from discriminating based on age, gender, race, national origin, disability, or religion. We have held employers guilty of this discrimination accountable for the damages they have caused.
- Unpaid wages and overtime – The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay their employees correctly for all hours on the job. This includes time spent working through lunch breaks or misclassifying employees as “exempt” in order to avoid paying legally required minimum wage guarantees.
- Equal pay for equal work – The Equal Pay Act requires employers to pay men and women who perform the same job duties in the same work environment equal pay for their work. Our attorneys have held employers accountable for violating this law.
- Whistleblower protections – Federal and state laws provide protections for employees who initiate qui tam claims, preventing their employers from retaliating against them for coming forward as a whistleblower.
- Health insurance benefits (COBRA) – Federal and state laws allow employees and their families to temporarily maintain their health insurance benefits if they voluntarily or involuntarily leave their job. Our attorneys will fight aggressively to ensure you receive these benefits if your employer unfairly tries to deny you access to them.
Pension Plan and ERISA Litigation
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) provides certain protections to employees and retirees regarding their 401k and pension plans. The law establishes a fiduciary duty for employers or plan providers, requiring them to carefully guard the assets placed in 401k and pension plans by employees and retirees. When this fiduciary duty is violated, employees and retirees are entitled to recover damages for any financial losses incurred.
Often, class action ERISA cases involve tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars. The Chicago employment and pension lawyers at Harvey L. Walner & Associates know the complex laws involved in these cases, and we have the vast resources necessary to pursue these claims to completion.
Please contact Harvey L. Walner & Associates today to schedule your free employment, labor and pension law consultation. We serve class action clients nationwide from our offices in Chicago, Illinois.