Employment law questions, answered

Nothing. There is no charge to find out whether you have a case. You describe what happened, we tell you whether the law covers it, and we say so plainly if it doesn’t. No obligation follows from that call, and nothing is billed for it.

Most of our matters run on contingency: no payment up front, nothing while the case is pending, and nothing at all unless we recover money for you. Our fee comes out of that recovery as an agreed percentage. Some matters — severance review, for instance — work differently, and we explain those terms before you commit.

You owe us no attorney’s fee. That is the entire point of the arrangement. Case costs are handled in the fee agreement you sign, and we walk you through that document line by line rather than handing it over and waiting for a signature.

Three people, in order: our intake team, who take down the facts; an attorney, who reviews your complete file before the first legal conversation; and a founding partner, who reviews every matter the firm takes. You will know your attorney by name and work with them directly.

Not without your say-so. Your inquiry is confidential from the moment you submit it. Nothing goes to your employer, HR, or anyone else unless you retain us and we agree together on that step — and in most cases that step comes much later than people expect.

Nina is our AI voice intake system. If you opt in on the form, she calls back within about five minutes to capture your account thoroughly, on your schedule. She is not a lawyer and gives no legal advice. Leave the toggle off and a person calls you instead, usually the same business day.

A rough timeline — what happened, when, who was there. Then anything in writing: emails, texts, Slack messages, performance reviews, write-ups, your offer letter, your handbook, pay stubs. If you still have work email access, forward the relevant messages to a personal address today.

Often yes, and in some claims a documented internal complaint is what makes later retaliation illegal. But how you word it matters, and so does what you do afterward. If you haven’t complained yet, that is a good reason to call before you do rather than after.

It depends which side of the state line you’re on. Minnesota allows recording a conversation you are part of. Illinois requires every participant to consent to recording a private conversation. Getting this wrong is a criminal exposure, not a strategic misstep — ask before you hit record.

No, and quitting usually weakens your position rather than strengthening it. Resignation can cost you unemployment benefits and it removes the employer’s ongoing obligation toward you. There is a narrow doctrine for conditions so intolerable that leaving counts as a firing, but it is a high bar.

Read nothing as final. Those agreements typically waive every claim you have, including ones you don’t know about, and the initial offer is rarely the ceiling. If you’re 40 or older, federal law gives you a review period and a revocation window. Send it to us before the clock runs out.

Shorter than most people assume, and it varies by claim. Discrimination and harassment charges in Minnesota generally run one year; Illinois now allows two years for state charges, while the federal EEOC window stays at 300 days. Federal wage claims reach back two years, three if the violation was willful.

For most discrimination and harassment claims, yes — you file an administrative charge first, with the EEOC, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, or the Illinois Department of Human Rights. Wage claims skip that step entirely. Which path applies to you is one of the first things we determine.

The agency’s notice that it has finished with your charge and you may now take the claim to court. It comes with its own deadline — typically 90 days — and that deadline is unforgiving. If one has landed in your mailbox, call the same week rather than the same month.

Anywhere from a few weeks to a few years. A severance negotiation can close before the month is out. A discrimination case that goes through an agency charge, litigation, and discovery commonly runs two years or more. We give you a realistic range for your specific claim, not an average.

Possibly, but don’t assume it. Deadlines run from different trigger dates depending on the claim, ongoing violations can reset the clock, and a single set of facts often supports several claims with several different windows. A five-minute call settles the question at no cost.

Minnesota and Illinois are home — offices in Minneapolis and Chicago, attorneys admitted in both. We also appear in federal courts elsewhere, and we handle nationwide class and collective actions. If your matter belongs somewhere we can’t take it, we’ll tell you that and point you toward someone who can.

Then the answer usually turns on where you physically work, not where the company is incorporated. A worker sitting in St. Paul for a Texas employer is generally protected by Minnesota law and federal law both. Multi-state situations get complicated fast, which is a reason to ask rather than guess.

No. We represent employees only — that has been true since the firm was founded, and it means we never sit across the table from someone in your position. It also means no conflict check ever comes back saying we already work for the company that fired you.

Yes, and sometimes better ones. Union contracts add grievance procedures and arbitration steps that run parallel to your legal claims, with their own short deadlines. Public employees pick up constitutional protections private-sector workers don’t have. Both add options — but only if the grievance clock hasn’t already expired.

No. Some claims are strong but too small to justify the fight, some fall outside what the law actually prohibits, and some belong with a different kind of firm. When that’s the answer we say it directly on the first call, including when the honest advice is to not pursue it at all.