Hostile Work Environment Lawyers in Pittsburgh, PA

Who We Represent, Examples, and 40 Signs You Might Be in a Hostile Work Environment

Hostile Work Environment Law Firm

Many employees find themselves in a hostile work environment that can significantly impact their ability to perform their job effectively or even remain employed. In these situations, it’s essential to understand that legal options are available. As a top employment law firm in Pittsburgh, MKO Employment Law LLC focuses on handling complex work environment claims, with each case requiring a tailored approach to achieve the best outcome for their clients. MKO Employment Law LLC handles three general types of hostile work environment claims, including (1) wrongful termination due to hostile work environment, (2) professional exit strategy and facilitation to separate from the workplace, and (3) hourly-based job preservation representation.

(1) Wrongful Termination because of a Hostile Work Environment

When an employee is terminated from their job because of a hostile work environment, it can be devastating. Not only have they been subjected to discriminatory, harassing, or retaliatory behavior, but they have also lost their source of income. MKO Employment Law LLC can help employees who have been wrongfully terminated because of a hostile work environment. They can investigate the circumstances leading up to the termination, gather evidence, and build a strong case to hold the employer accountable for their actions. Learn More about Wrongful Termination  and  Constructive Termination / Constructive Discharge.

(2) Professional Exit Strategy to Separate from the Workplace

Sometimes, the best course of action for an employee in a hostile work environment is to leave their job. However, it’s important to do so in a way that protects their rights and ensures a smooth transition. MKO Employment Law LLC can help employees develop a professional exit strategy that includes negotiating severance agreements, drafting resignation letters, and protecting their rights during the transition. Learn More about A Professional Exit Strategies.

(3) Job Preservation & Job Enhancement, Hourly Based Representation

In some cases, employees in hostile work environments want to preserve their jobs but need legal representation to do so. MKO Employment Law LLC offers hourly based representation for employees who want to protect their jobs and hold their employers accountable for their actions. They can help employees navigate the legal process, gather evidence, and negotiate with their employer to resolve the situation. This can include negotiating with the employer, filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), or representing the employee in court. This can include a negotiation for a promotion or keeping a job and receive a financial settlement after reporting harassment.

Here are five examples of people who may need help from MKO Employment Law LLC for a hostile work environment claim:

  1. An employee is subjected to disability / medical discrimination and major harassment from coworkers, which creates a hostile work environment. Despite reporting the behavior to management, no action is taken to stop the harassment. MKO Employment Law LLC can help the employee file a complaint with the EEOC and negotiate a settlement with the employer, compensating the employee for lost wages and emotional distress. Learn More about Disability Discrimination.
  2. An employee is the target of sexual harassment from a supervisor. The harassment includes unwanted advances, comments, messages, and touching. Despite reporting the behavior to HR, the employee is ignored, and the harassment continues. This conduct is unlawful even if the targeted employee had previously engaged in flirtatious or sexual conduct with the supervisor. Learn More about Sexual Harassment.
  3. An employee is subjected to age discrimination by management. The employee is passed over for promotions and job opportunities in favor of younger employees, despite being highly qualified. MKO Employment Law LLC can help the employee file a claim with the EEOC and negotiate a settlement with the employer, resulting in compensation for the employee’s lost wages and benefits. Learn More about Age Discrimination.
  4. An employee is subjected to retaliation after reporting discriminatory behavior in the workplace. The employee’s supervisor assigns them to menial tasks and gives them poor performance reviews, despite the employee’s exemplary work history. MKO Employment Law LLC can help the employee file a lawsuit against the employer, resulting in a large financial settlement for the employee and changes to the company’s policies. Learn More about Retaliation Claims in Pennsylvania: A Comprehensive Workplace Retaliation Guide.
  5. An employee is subjected to gender-based discrimination by their employer, who favors male employees over female employees for promotions and salary increases. When the employee raises the issue with management, they are ignored and their work is unfairly scrutinized. MKO Employment Law LLC can help the employee file a lawsuit against the employer, resulting in a significant financial settlement and changes to the company’s policies to ensure gender equity in the workplace. Learn More about Gender Discrimination.

Achieving Justice and Compensation. MKO Employment Law LLC Can Help with Hostile Work Environments

If you are currently experiencing a hostile work environment in Pittsburgh, it can be overwhelming and challenging to navigate on your own. However, you do have legal options to protect your rights and ensure a positive outcome for your situation. As a top employment law firm, MKO Employment Law LLC is dedicated to helping clients who are experiencing hostile work environments achieve justice and compensation for the damages they have suffered. With their expertise and experience in handling complex work environment claims, they can provide you with a tailored approach to your case, ensuring the best possible outcome. Don’t wait to seek legal guidance and support. Contact MKO Employment Law LLC today to schedule a consultation and learn more about how they can help you through this difficult time.

 

Attorney Email

Email MKO or Call 412-301-2700. No State or Federal Employees & Only Pennsylvania Cases.

Top 40 List: Signs You Might Be in a Hostile Work Environment

  1. Constant belittling, insults, or put-downs from coworkers or supervisors
  2. Discrimination based on age, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, or disability
  3. Sexual harassment, including unwanted touching, comments, or advances
  4. Retaliation for reporting discriminatory behavior or harassment
  5. Excessive work demands, including long hours or unrealistic deadlines
  6. Isolation from coworkers or exclusion from team events or projects
  7. Physical threats or intimidation from coworkers or supervisors
  8. Sabotage or destruction of work projects or equipment
  9. Unexplained changes in job responsibilities or job duties
  10. Lack of support or resources from management to complete job responsibilities
  11. Gossip and rumors about employees or supervisors
  12. Invasion of privacy, such as reading personal emails or monitoring phone calls
  13. Failing to accommodate disabilities or religious practices
  14. Denial of promotion or advancement opportunities based on discriminatory factors
  15. Micromanagement and lack of trust in employees
  16. Favoritism or nepotism in the workplace
  17. Undermining employees or blaming them for mistakes they didn’t make
  18. Lack of clear communication from management about job duties or expectations
  19. Unreasonable or unjustified criticism or discipline from supervisors
  20. Inconsistent or unfair application of company policies
  21. Lack of diversity and inclusion in the workplace
  22. Ignoring or dismissing employee complaints or concerns
  23. Physical or emotional exhaustion due to stress in the workplace
  24. Fear of speaking up or reporting issues due to fear of retaliation
  25. Unwanted physical contact or invasion of personal space
  26. Forced to work in an unsafe or dangerous environment
  27. Refusal to accommodate religious or cultural practices
  28. Outdated or ineffective workplace policies and procedures
  29. Unreasonable or excessive workload
  30. Coercion or intimidation to participate in activities outside of work
  31. Lack of support or resources for mental health and well-being
  32. Harassment based on political beliefs or affiliation
  33. Inappropriate jokes or comments that create a hostile environment
  34. Discrimination based on marital status or family status
  35. Unreasonable expectations or requirements for dress or appearance
  36. Discrimination based on nationality or ethnicity
  37. Retaliation for taking a leave of absence or utilizing sick days
  38. Hostile behavior towards employees who have reported issues in the past
  39. Sabotage or intentional obstruction of an employee’s work by coworkers or management, creating a hostile or unproductive work environment.
  40. Failing to protect employees from physical harm or danger in the workplace

📲412-301-2700

“Providing you a path forward in your life, career, and recovering the compensation you deserve.” 

MKO is a “boutique firm” which means that we focus on a niche area and offer highly specialized services to clients who are looking for the personal touch within our area of expertise: Employment Law. Boutique law firms are not a general practice or one-stop legal shop, and that’s a good thing. You need one good attorney who knows the ins and outs of the area of law that’s relevant to your case. Look for a law firm that primarily practices the area of law that you need. If that’s all they do, chances are, they do it very well. We see each legal dispute as an opportunity to find a fair and equitable resolution without destroying your reputation, resume, job prospects, income, and if avoidable, not subjecting you, your family, friends, and former coworkers to unnecessary, highly invasive, time consuming, stressful, and ultimately public litigation. MKO, “Providing you a path forward in your life, career, and recovering the compensation you deserve.™” Confidentiality is key, for everyone. Are you a victim? MKO’s employment lawyers are always available for the clients. You can contact us anytime for a case assessment and evaluation. 

Ten Reasons You Want MKO As Your Employment Counsel

1. Focused Employment Law Practice

MKO is a “boutique law firm” which means that we concentrate on this niche area and offer highly focused employment law services to clients who are looking for the personal touch. Boutique law firms are not a one-stop legal shop, and that’s a good thing. While a long roster of diverse legal services may look impressive on paper, it’s fairly pointless in practice. You need one good attorney who knows the ins and outs of the area of law that’s relevant to your case.  Look for a law firm that only practices in the area of law that you need. If that’s all they do, chances are, they do it very well.

2. Technology Driven & Experts in the Cloud

We provide immediate legal consultations, operate a paperless law firm, use advanced cloud storage, digital signatures, electronic forms, and can review your documents using screen share technology instantaneously. MKO is technologically savvy, nimble, flexible, and efficient. 

We are not confined to our office, chained to a desktop computer, or burdened with IT maintenance. Thanks to the smart use of technology we can focus on providing our clients with the best representation possible. By streamlining our practice we can focus on what our clients hire us to do – advocate on their behalf and work diligently toward a desired result.

3. Legal Advice Instantly From The Comfort of Home

MKO can provide superior legal services through adaptive use of new technology and provide the majority of legal assistance while you are comfortably working from your home. It just also happens it's better, easier, and faster for our clients - they really appreciate it. We seamlessly and interactively collaborate with you in a relaxed environment where you have all of your files in your immediate control. We find this is the absolute best way to provide legal advice to our clients on complex legal issues, hands down.

The old style of coming into our office with binders of disjointed and unsearchable paperwork, of which we to organize and figure out on the fly, is incredibly wasteful, time-consuming, inefficient, and not highly productive. Because of our integration with technology, we are ready to work with you on highly intricate matters on a moments notice, no matter where you (or we) are.

4. Discreet When Necessary

While many cases require that we go to court to seek justice, there are a substantial number of disputes that need to be handled discreetly. We see each legal dispute as an opportunity to find a fair and equitable resolution without destroying your reputation, resume, job prospects, income, and if avoidable, not subjecting you, your family, friends, and former coworkers to unnecessary, highly invasive, time consuming, stressful, and ultimately public litigation. MKO, “Providing you a path forward in your life, career, and recovering the compensation you deserve.™”

Confidentiality is key, for everyone. 

5. Experience, Professional, & Integrity

Through representing and managing thousands of employment situations, rest assured there is help or a path forward for your situation. For example, Partner Christi Wallace has personally represented over 1000 clients and has managed hundreds more for associates that worked for her in just her first 10 years!

6. Highly Responsive Attorneys

We always get the question, "If I choose to have you represent me, will it be difficult for me to get in touch with you?"

Absolutely not, we even make ourselves available to clients beyond our normal business hours! Further, when you call us your attorney answers, not a secretary who puts you on hold for 20 minutes, then tells you that you can leave a voicemail for your attorney. Besides the MKO office phone number, our clients can contact their attorney via mobileSMS & textingbusiness email, and an urgent emergency email. For example, we can often respond to a text message in just a few minutes. Experience a better, faster, and more efficient way to work with an attorney. MKO believes that clients can and should depend on the fact that we’ll respond quickly.

7. Attorneys Available 74+ Hours Per Week

Employment Attorneys are available at least 74 hours per week by phone, email, and text messaging. Don't be fooled by marketing, many law firms are using non-attorney 3rd party answering services and advertising "Phones Answered 24 Hours A Day, 7 Days A Week." We pick up our own phones, respond to our own emails and text messages, and use real attorneys, 74+ hours per week. 

M-F 7am-7pm
Sat/Sun 8am-3pm

8. Practical Advice From Seasoned Professionals

MKO strongly believes that every situation is distinctly unique and therefore we must endeavor to find the right solution for that particular issue. Because we are a boutique employment law firm, we strive to find unique and innovation solutions for our clients in every circumstance. We take action when necessary, put together deals when possible, and work with our clients so we can be creative and find smart solutions instead of needless litigation. We want to protect your interests now and in the future.

9. Contingency Representation

Contingency Legal Representation is where you do not have to pay your lawyer up front. This is fantastic if you are offered this option. Lawyers and litigation costs are incredibly expensive if you pay hourly. With contingency representation, you are not faced with large legal bills and expenses that are daunting and causes slow downs while waiting for a retainer to be replenished. Further, when you're offering to pay anyone up front and hourly, it seems they'll take almost any case - so long as they are getting paid. Funny how that works. Here's how we help:

  • People can afford an attorney. – Without the benefit of contingency, it would be very difficult for a person who was recently separated from their job to afford an employment lawyer.
  • MKO only gets paid if there is a recovery.  – We put our money where our mouth is, if we don't get a recovery, you don't owe legal fees and costs.
  • Contingency representation says something about your case. – Considering MKO only will get paid if there is a recovery, you can assume we like to cases that we believe have merit.
  • Helps people can move on with their lives – Instead of racking up debt to pay for legal help, our contingency representation lets you move on with your life as we deal with the legal stuff. This is exactly what MKO stands for, “Providing you a path forward in your life, career, and recovering the compensation you deserve.™"
10. Keeping Costs Low To Focus On Your Case

Our clients understand that their representation is are far more important than an expensive address. Some law firms might be battling an extremely burdensome and large cost overhead. In other words, to survive, they may need to be a "factory firm" or "volume practice" that needs to process a vast amount of cases to be able to afford their superfluous costs, expenses, and overheadWe aggressively keep costs down so we can focus on you.

Don't want to be treated like an account number, a settlement figure, or a wheel that needs to be turned to keep the law firm getting paid? We keep our costs low and use this financial freedom for our clients best interests.

Legal Consultations

Hours Open Every Week

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Clients & Cases Managed

Wrongful Termination

We help people fired, or soon to be fired, when they have been treated unfairly, illegally, or unjustly.

Employment Discrimination

Race, religion, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), orientation, disability.

Professional Exit Strategies

Remove yourself from a toxic workplace or help with a job loss. Lawyers give you an exit strategy.

Medical Accommodations

Employees needing physical or mental health/wellness accommodations are protected.

Disability Discrimination

Many health conditions can be considered disabilities and are  legally protected including retaliation.  

EEOC or PHRC Agencies

Aggressive lawyering in the state and federal agencies can mean quick, quiet, and lucrative resolutions.

Age Discrimination

For those over 40 years old (but older is preferred) that experience bias based on your age.

Sexual Harassment

A range of actions from mild transgressions to sexual abuse or sexual assault. A highly serious offense.

I trusted Mr. Kraemer with a rather difficult period of time for my family, and we came out on top. He is trustworthy and honest, incredibly helpful, and understanding. Five stars aren’t enough! Him and his staff are well experienced, and won’t let up until the truth is known and justice is served. Michael, it’s been a pleasure. I hope I never need your services again! If I do, I will not hesitate to give you a call.

Bob B.

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Halfway to legal help. If you don't get paid, neither do we. All you need to do is call MKO!

Employment Law Ready✔ ™

Michael Kraemer was the only lawyer who took my case and would be the only lawyer I’d rely on. He kept me informed and was very intellectual on the whole subject that my case was revolved around. I give Mr. Kraemer a 10 out of 10 and I would refer him and his associates to anyone who wants a well defined lawyer.

Andrew L.

Wrongful Termination & Discrimination Questions

To Ask During Your Free Lawyer Consultation

  • =What does an employment discrimination, wrongful termination lawyer do?

  • =Do I need an employment lawyer, what options do I have?

  • =Can a employment attorney really help my case, even if I still work there?

  • =When should I hire an employment law firm? 

  • =Is discrimination, illegal conduct, and severance negotiations that common?

  • =How do you retain an employment attorney and is it really this easy? 

  • =How do I know when I need an employment lawyer?

  • =When should I address discrimination at the office?

  • =What is my case worth? 

  • =Do I have a retaliation, wrongful termination, or discrimination case?

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