As an employee, chances are you don’t know all the ins, outs, and fine print of your benefits. If you’re not a lawyer, all you need to know is that you get them. When you start being denied them, you might not even know where to begin.
Now more than ever, in times of economic uncertainty, it’s crucial to be sure you are getting all you are entitled to at your job. As companies cut back, you might find some of your rights being slowly chipped away at: a percentage of your paycheck is deducted to pay your formerly gratis health benefits. A freeze is put on your retirement benefits. Your sick days become unpaid. Many of us will save our griping for the safety of our homes, fearing that the squeaky wheel will get the ax. Fear no more. These are your rights, and guess what. You have every right to fight for your rights. To party. Just kidding, but you do need to fight for your rights to be sick and not come to work a few times a year.
What’s an Employee Benefits Lawyer?
It’s important not to let anyone think that they are entitled to take away your benefits, and you’re not entitled to fight that. By standing up for what was promised to you when you were hired, you are asserting that you know what’s going on. You know your rights, and you know that fighting for them doesn’t mean you’re not doing your job well. It can be intimidating, however, to start demanding your benefits from your employer. For one, the same economic uncertainties that are leading to more and more cases of benefit cutbacks are also leading employees to be too worried about losing their jobs to complain. For another thing, it’s more than overwhelming to get a handle on benefit laws – you know, bylaw 134, section K, line 12? Yikes. Time to turn to a professional, for protection and knowledge.
Then there’s the other side of the coin – you’re the employer. Many larger companies already have lawyers on hand for this sort of thing, but let’s say you’re a small business owner, and an employee is bringing a claim against you for benefits you did not agree on, and/or benefits you cannot afford. This isn’t a case of David and Goliath. You have rights, too. Just like an employee faced with needing benefits, you need protection as a business owner. Your business is your livelihood, and the help of a lawyer can help you keep everything running as smoothly and as fairly as possible.
As an employee, chances are you don’t know all the ins, outs, and fine print of your benefits. If you’re not a lawyer, all you need to know is that you get them. When you start being denied them, you might not even know where to begin. Are you supposed to be getting overtime? How do you make a case for getting overtime to your boss? You need to know what you have the right to, when these rights are being wrongfully taken away, when you can fight that, and how. Now, if you’re the employer, you know a bit more about benefits, but probably not as much as you need to know to make an argument as strong as you deserve. By hiring an employee benefits lawyer, you’re bringing on an expert with the facts you need to support your case. Employer or employee, you might know you have a case, but do you know how to lock in a win for your case? While you’re working hard for your business (whether it’s yours or you’re on the payroll), an employment benefits lawyer is building an entire career on benefits laws. They know what you don’t have time to know, so you can make sure you’re not being shorted out on any rights.
