FLSA :
The Fair Labor Standards Act is a federal statute covering requirements for employers and employees for minimum wage, overtime, and record keeping, among other things. The most common type of cases are misclassified employees who are paid salary and classified as an exempt employee. They are required to work overtime yet not compensated for the overtime hours. There are certain classifications of employees where a salary is sufficient however certain tests must be met for such a classification. Also, a common violation is identifying an employee as an independent contractor in order to avoid overtime expenses. The Act allows employees to proceed against the employer and collect money owed plus attorney’s fees and expenses, and in some cases double damages.
ERISA:
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act is a federal statute that preempts essentially all litigation involving group plans, such as healthcare, life insurance, and disability insurance. The most common type of these cases involves the denial of a disability claim made under an employee group plan. The process of making a claim for long term disability benefits involves properly submitting information into the claims file. In an ERISA case this will ultimately be the sole reason for a denial of benefits and if it isn’t submitted in the claims file then it is forever barred from being seen by a reviewing court. In other words, failure to properly provide all information during the claims process could result in a denial of your disability benefits and leave you with little or no recourse. Representation is strongly encouraged while going through the claims process when a group plan is involved, not just waiting until a denial of the claim.
Personal Injury cases:
We specialize in handling all types of bodily injury cases, especially, automobile accidents, and injuries due to faulty products. Often when a person is involved in a wreck they are of the opinion they will lose money to pay an attorney to assist them. The truth is, the portion of the settlement amount paid to an individual using an attorney is probably substantially higher, due to the ability to work with subrogation of medical bills, and obtain higher settlements. Further, the risk is minimal because the cases are signed up on a contingency basis which means it nothing in collected then no fee is charged.
Criminal Law:
All types of criminal charges are handled. Including Driving under the influence (DUI), misdemeanors and felonies of all types, primarily in Houston, Dale and Geneva Counties.
Wills, Estates and Administrations:
When a person passes the will must be submitted to probate. Many people misunderstand that a will is worthless until taken through the process of probate, which entails filing the will into the probate court, having it proved to be the true will, and having the executor appointed. An administration is the name of the process when a person dies and leaves no will. This is called dying intestate. An interested person, usually a family member can start this process, however, there is a priority for the person who can be the administrator, as well as who will inherit. In other words State law determines who inherits when no will is left.
General Practice:
We handle a variety of other cases, to include real estate closings, title opinions, deed preparation, custody and divorce cases, etc. We often consult with individuals and determine what is best for the client. In some instances the client is referred to another attorney who may be more helpful in their circumstances.