Laws protect people in employment against discrimination based on race, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation and many other areas. The major piece of legislation that covers disability discrimination is the Americans with Disabilities Act. Part of the purpose of the act is to define who is protected by law and what constitutes illegal discrimination. Like most employment discrimination laws the hardest part of the process in determining if you have been affected is understanding the definitions. The definition of an individual with a disability, under the law, is one who has a physical and or a mental impairment that significantly limits one or more of life's major activities. Major life activities have been defined as those things an average person can do without a great deal of difficulty for example breathing, seeing, hearing, walking, working and the like.

Employment discrimination laws cover the hiring, promotion and firing processes. This which means, a well-qualified applicant cannot be denied fair consideration for employment. Current employees cannot be denied promotion or terminated on the grounds of their disability. Training, benefits, and employee compensation cannot be waived or in any way altered due to a disability. If an employee or applicant makes a claim of discrimination, they must first be a "qualified individual with a disability", which means if the person is disabled, they must be able to perform the job or task before they can claim they are being discriminated physically.

Under the law the definition of a qualified person with a disability, is someone who first and foremost that has the necessary skills, education or job experience and who can perform the work in question. As well as being able to perform the job you must be able to do so with or without reasonable accommodation. Reasonable accommodation can include making work places accessible for people with disabilities, job restructuring, a modified work timetable, extra unpaid leave, modifying equipment or having qualified readers on hand.

An employer complying with employment discrimination law is not required to lower normal production standards to make an accommodation, nor is he expected to provide personal items like eyeglasses or hearing aids. Employers are only required to provide reasonable accommodation and this gives employers an exemption or what could be seen as a loophole in the legislation. The requirement to make reasonable accommodations for a qualified candidate also means they are not obligated to do so if it would cause undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business. In effect, undue hardship means anything that causes significant difficulty or expense when compared with the size of the business, the financial status and the businesses operation.

You, like me, may feel that you have been the victim of discrimination. Before making a final decision on whether or not to file a complaint, it is important to check all the existing statutes, both federal and state, related to this law as well as case law. This will ensure you chances of success.

By: Gary T Talbot
You need more information on and a copy of the FREE report Employment Discrimination: Are You A Victim Of Discrimination employment discrimination? So head over to YourEmploymentGuide.net.

Are you working in a hostile work environment? If you feel that you're being sexually harassed in the workplace, then read on. This information can help you determine if you have a sexual harassment case or not, and the appropriate steps to take.

You are probably wondering what steps to take first. The first thing you should do is to make sure that what you're experiencing qualifies as sexual harassment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission states that unwelcome sexual advances, request for sexual favors or any conduct of a sexual nature is morally wrong, unethical and unacceptable in the workplace. Submission to, or rejection of these advances can not be used as a basis for employment decisions. Advances can not be used to create an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment, whether these outcomes were intentional or not.

Teasing, inappropriate comments and isolated incidents of a sexual nature are not necessarily considered sexual harassment. The conduct must be severe and/or continuous and have some effect on the terms of your employment to be considered sexual harassment. This rule is in place to filter out frivolous suits for conduct that is not necessarily found hostile or abusive to most people. Flirtation that does not affect your status as an employee may not be considered sexual harassment.

This doesn't mean that flirtation and offhand comments are okay. If you are uncomfortable, then there is a problem. Go directly to the offensive party's superior and make a complaint in writing. It is important to have a paper trail documenting your complaints. If the situation worsens or is not resolved, then you need proof that you have gone through the proper procedures to try and end the situation. If you don't, and things escalate, then you may not be able to recover damages if the case does go to court.

Going through your employer's proper procedures can protect you from retaliation after the complaint is filed. Most employers have a complaint process that must be followed. If they don't, then they could be liable for actions taken by their employees. Resolving situations with your employer is generally the best idea. You may choose to contact an attorney before you file your complaint with your employer to make sure that you are clear in your letter about what laws you think have been broken and the steps that you will take if things do not improve.

If things don't change or get worse after your complaint is formally filed with your employer, you may want to contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to file another complaint. At this point, you will need to contact an attorney that specialized in sexual harassment claims. An attorney can make sure that all the appropriate steps have been taken. This will greatly increase your chances of recovering damages if the case goes to court. The goal shouldn't be to collect money, but to keep your job, not be retaliated or discriminated against, and to work in a healthy, respectful environment.

By: Kelly Thacker
Kelly Thacker of Thacker + Co, a full-service court reporting firm in Salt Lake City, Utah.
For more information on Salt Lake City Court Reporters, please visit http://www.thackerco.com.

Child Support Guidelines are used to establish or modify a payor's child support obligation. Basically the Guidelines say if income is A and the number of children is B, child support payments will be C. It is important that the attorney you hire understands the ins and outs of these Guidelines. Otherwise, as the payor you may be required to pay more child support than your circumstances warrant or as the payee you may receive less child support than you should.

As the parent receiving support you need to make sure that all of the payor's income is considered, such as wages, interest and dividends, rental income, distributions from retirement plans, interest in an estate, disability payments, worker's compensation, unemployment benefits, net gambling winnings, the value of in-kind benefits, and imputed income.

As the payor parent, you need to ensure that an accurate gross income is used to determine your obligation. If you have sporadic or fluctuating income such as seasonal work, bonuses or commissions, the amount of sporadic income includable as gross income is determined by averaging over the prior three years.

To accurately verify your spouse or ex-spouse's income you should always obtain as many documents as possible, including tax returns, W-2 forms, 1099 forms, paystubs and for the self-employed, statements of business receipts and expenses.

In addition to ensuring that gross income is properly determined, it is important that your attorney understand what expenses are included in the child support calculation under the Guidelines and when it can be argued that the Guidelines should be modified or disregarded.

Expenses that are included in the calculation under the Guidelines are housing, food, clothing, transportation, unreimbursed medical expenses up to $250 per year, entertainment and other miscellaneous expenses. The calculation is based upon the "average family. " The Child Support Guidelines are assumed to be correct unless a parent can show that circumstances exist that make an application of the Guidelines inappropriate. The Court has the discretion to modify the Guidelines to meet the needs of the child or a parent's special circumstances.

If you have expenses beyond those covered by the Guidelines, especially those that are predictable and recurring, an argument can be made to the Court that additional expenses should be included in the child support calculation. Expenses that are routinely added are childcare, health insurance, and predictable and recurring unreimbursed health care expenses that exceed $250 per child per year. It can be argued that other predictable and recurring expenses, such as private elementary or secondary education, special needs for disabled children or gifted children, tutoring and special dietary needs, should also be included.

A competent attorney will also recognize nuances in the Guidelines that may allow you to obtain additional warranted child support. For example, under the category of clothing, footwear is included; however, special footwear such as that required for sports is not included. Accordingly, if your child is routinely involved in a sport that requires expensive footwear you may be entitled to an additional amount of child support to pay for that expense.

In the event your child is 12 years of age or older when the initial child support award is entered, that award and all subsequent awards should be adjusted upward by 14.6%. The Guidelines are only intended to apply to children ages 0 to 17 or those children who are still attending high school. The Court looks to statutes and case law when determining whether continued child support is warranted for children attending college.

In summary, while the Guidelines are assumed to be correct, there are numerous areas where a competent attorney can argue that your unique situation justifies modifying or disregarding them.

By: Nicole Huckerby
Nicole Huckerby is a senior associate in the Princeton based law firm of Pellettieri, Rabstein & Altman. She specializes in Family Law and can be reached at 609 520-0900 or visit http://www.pralaw.com.

If an individual applies for Social Security disability insurance and is denied there is an appeals process they can through in order for reconsideration of their application.

If an individual wishes to appeal the Social Security Administration’s decision regarding their application for disability insurance they can do so, however they must make their request in writing within 60 days from the date they received Social Security’s denial letter. The Social Security Administration assumes that the individual receives their letter five days after the date posted on the letter, unless an individual can show them they received it later. There are generally three or four levels of appeals; the first being reconsideration, second is a hearing by and administrative law judge, third is a review by appeals council and lastly is a federal court review. When the Social Security Administration sends an individual their letter about their decision on their claim they give them instructions on how to appeal the decision.

The first level of appeals is reconsideration. Reconsideration is a complete review of the individual’s application by someone who didn’t take place in the first decision. The individual at the Social Security Administration reviewing the application will look at any evidence submitted when the original application was sent in and also any new evidence. Most of reconsideration reviews are done without the individual present, however if the individual is appealing a decision that they are no longer eligible for disability insurance because their condition has improved, they can meet with a Social Security representative to explain to them why they believe they still have a disability.

The second level of appeals is a hearing by an administrative law judge. If an individual disagrees with the reconsideration decision, they may ask for a hearing. The administrative law judge conducting the hearing is one who had no part in the first decision or the reconsideration decision in the individual’s case. The hearing is held usually within 75 miles of the individual’s home, and the administrative judge notifies the individual of the time and place of the hearing. The individual and their representative (if they have one) may come to the hearing to explain their case to the judge in person; they may look at the information in their file and give any new information that they have. In order for the administrative law judge to make his/her decision they will question the individual and their witnesses they bring to the hearing. Other witnesses such as medical and vocational experts may also give the judge information at the hearing. The individual or representative then also may question the witnesses. It is usually to the individuals advantage if they attend their hearing, however if they chose not to do so they must notify the Social Security Administration in writing that they don’t want to attend. In some situations they hearing may be held as a video conference rather than in person. The individual will be notified ahead of time if this is the case. A video conference is often more convenient for the individual, it also is usually faster to schedule a video conference than an in-person hearing. Lastly the video conference may also make it closer to their home so it would make it easier for the individual to have witnesses and others accompany them. Unless the administrative law judge believes that the individual presence is needed to decide the case he or she will make their decision based on all the information in the individual’s case and that’s including any new information. Lastly when the administrative law judge has reached their decision the individual will be sent a letter and a copy of the administrative law judge’s decision.

The third level of appeal in denial of Social Security disability benefits is an appeals council. This level of appeal happens when the individual doesn’t agree with the hearing’s decision they make ask for a review by the Social Security’s Appeals Council. The Appeals Council looks at all requests for review, they can however deny a request if they believe that the decision of the hearing was correct. If the Appeals Council decides to review the individual’s case it will either decide the individuals case itself or it will return it to an administrative law judge for further review. If the Appeals Council denies the individuals request for a review they will send the individual a letter explaining the denial, if the Appeals Council makes a decision on the case the individual will be sent a copy of the Appeals Council’s decision, and lastly if the Appeals Council returns the case to an administrative law judge for further review the individual will receive a letter and a copy of the order for further review from the Appeals Council.

The last level of appeals is federal court. If the individual disagrees with the decision of the Appeals Council or the Appeals Council denied request for a review of their case, the individual may file a law suit in a federal district court. The letter that the Social Security Administration sends to the individual explaining about the Appeals Council’s action will also have information regarding how to ask a court to look at the individual’s case.

An individual may still be eligible to receive disability insurance while the Social Security Administration makes a decision on their appeal if, the individual is appealing a decision that they can no longer get Social Security disability benefits because their medical condition is not disabling or, if the individual is appealing the Social Security Administration’s decision that they are no longer eligible for SSI payments or that their SSI payments may be reduced or suspended. If the individual wishes to continue receiving benefits they must notify the Social Security Administration within ten days of receiving the administration’s letter. If the individuals appeal is turned down they might be required to pay back any money they were not eligible to receive.

An individual appealing a Social Security disability denial has the right to have a representative help them in their appeals process. The Social Security Administration offers free help with the appeals process however the individual may also opt to have a lawyer, a friend or someone else to help them. The Social Security Administration will work with the individuals representative in all the steps to appeal, the representative can act for the individual in most Social Security matters and will also receive copies of any decisions made about the individuals claim. The representative however cannot collect any fees from the individual without prior permission of the Social Security Administration. Rules about representation can be found on the Social Security Administration’s website. http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10075.html

In order to contact the Social Security Administration for further information regarding a denial of disability insurance their website at ssa.gov is a very useful resource of information they also have a number of things the individual can do online. The individual can also contact the Social Security Administration directly by calling them at 1-800-772-1213.

By: Ashley Gurdon
This article as written by Ashley Gurdon, a Suffolk University student and intern for the employment lawyers at Goldstein and Clegg, LLC