Binghamton Employment Law

To begin the consultation process, call or email our office today. One of our professional staff members will schedule your initial consultation as soon as possible. They may ask you preliminary questions so that we can best match you with an attorney who meets your needs and is likely to have knowledge relevant to your legal issue. Your consultation may take place in either one of our offices or over the phone.

The goal of a consultation is twofold: (1) the attorney will have an opportunity to gain a basic understanding of your legal problem, and (2) the attorney can inform you about the legal options that may be available to you. At Tully Rinckey PLLC, we believe that the initial consultation is one of the most important parts of the legal process.

Please be aware that all discussions with an attorney during your consultation are private and will remain so, even if you do not retain the firm to represent you.

If you are an employee experiencing conflict with a current or former employer, obtaining experienced legal counsel is often an essential requirement to resolving your issues in a satisfactory manner. Tully Rinckey PLLC represents employees in a broad spectrum of employment law matters, including sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wage and hour claims, whistleblower claims, workforce reductions, contract disputes, and layoffs.

Our employment law team has experience in representing clients before both federal and state courts, as well as agencies and administrative boards. We stand ready to provide you with aggressive representation at every point in the legal process.

At Tully Rinckey PLLC, our experienced attorneys represent employers in a broad spectrum of employment law-related claims, including discrimination cases, wage and hour claims, whistleblower claims, employee injuries, termination disputes, contract disputes, arbitrations, and other areas of employer-employee relations.

Our team has experience litigating in both federal and state courts, as well as a proven track record in representing clients before administrative agencies and boards. We stand ready to provide aggressive representation for your business, allowing business owners and management to remain focused on the day-to-day operations of their organization.

The employer/employee relationship can give rise to a host of issues. Decisions such as hiring, firing, demoting or disciplining an employee may result in a claim against the employer. A business can also face claims by employees who allege they were wrongly discriminated against or harassed. Recent attention to the problem of workplace sexual harassment has some anticipating a coming wave of employee sexual harassment suits. While many may be familiar with class action lawsuits against large, multinational companies, smaller companies may also face employment-related disputes.

If a company has an Employment Practices Liability Insurance (“EPLI”) policy, it may seek coverage to offset some of the cost of defense and a judgment or settlement, if any.

EPLI is a form of liability insurance that is specifically tailored for employment-related disputes.

However, an EPLI policy is not meant to cover all employment-related disputes. Typical EPLI policies may exclude from coverage employee-related claims such as wage and hour disputes, ERISA disputes, and violations of the “WARN Act.” Coverage disputes can develop as to whether a claim is covered, whether it was timely reported, allocation (when a claim involves some allegations that may be potentially covered and other allegations that are not), and disputes concerning interrelated claims. An experienced coverage attorney can navigate these issues.

Tully Rinckey PLLC insurance law attorneys are experienced in representing businesses in EPLI claims. Our attorneys are skilled at problem solving, whether through informal resolution or litigation. Our attorneys have handled EPLI disputes concerning reinstatement of coverage, allocation of defense costs, and policy interpretation and construction.

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 or “ERISA” applies to most private sector employee benefit plans. Such plans may include disability, accident, and medical benefits. ERISA litigation is handled much differently than first-party insurance disputes under non-ERISA plans.

ERISA disputes are generally litigated in federal court, are not tried to a jury, and damages are limited. Claims available under state law may be preempted by the ERISA statutory scheme. There are also differences in discovery and the evidence on which the matter is decided, typically referred to as the administrative record.

The court may, in its discretion, award reasonable attorney’s fees to a party in an ERISA action.

ERISA does not apply to all retirement plans. Plans by Federal, state, or local government are not covered by ERISA. Plans that meet the criteria of “church plans” are also not governed by ERISA.

In addition to disputes between a plan participant or beneficiary and the plan administrator, ERISA may be implicated in disputes over provider reimbursement claims.

Tully Rinckey PLLC insurance law attorneys are experienced in representing insurance companies in ERISA disputes. Our representative matters include defending a carrier in a dispute alleging ERISA and state law claims over life insurance proceeds and a coverage dispute concerning a claim under an accidental death policy, among others. Our AV Preeminent-rated attorneys are capable of representing clients in ERISA claims in federal courts throughout Texas.