As an employment lawyer, I always recommend that any potential client experiencing issues at work begin by writing up a timeline of events and send it to us to review. Whether you decide to go with our firm or elsewhere, the time spent on creating a timeline with the above information will be invaluable to your employment lawyer. The process of creating a timeline helps organize their thoughts about what happened, and also helps our firm perform an effective evaluation of their case.
While the length and complexity of the case may change the details of what is required in the timeline, I generally recommend that it include:
- The full name, address, contact information (but not work email or phone), employer name, location, their job title;
- A description of the other people mentioned in the event timeline, such as their title, whether they are a supervisor;
- The timeline of important events organized chronologically. What is important varies from case to case, but things that are always important are: (a) hiring date; (b) any promotions, bonuses, or performance reviews; (c) any discipline; and (d) any reasons provided for discipline, demotion, termination, layoff or separation;
- Term description: If there are acronyms, define them;
- Whether any Employment Contract exists;
- Whether any arbitration or mediation agreement exists;
- Whether they are in a union, and if so, what union;
- Their goal or ideal outcome.
Have an issue at work? Please feel free to reach out to me at (856) 235-0220 or [email protected].