{"id":157,"date":"2024-10-02T18:54:46","date_gmt":"2024-10-02T18:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gelawllc.com\/?page_id=157"},"modified":"2026-02-08T20:07:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T20:07:53","slug":"services","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/gelawllc.com\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Serving clients in <strong>Missouri and Illinois<\/strong>, we represent employees who have been mistreated at work. You have legal rights as an employee, and those rights can be violated by employers, managers, or coworkers\u2014often resulting in <strong>discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or unpaid wages<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">You deserve a workplace where you can do your job without fear of mistreatment. We are committed to holding employers accountable when they violate the law. These violations can take many forms and here are some of the legal rights with which we help employees:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Employment Discrimination<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Your job should be evaluated based on performance, not race, age, sex, pregnancy, disability, religion, or any other protected characteristic. State and federal laws prohibit discrimination in hiring, firing, pay, promotions, and other employment decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Discrimination is rarely explicit. Employers seldom admit unlawful motives. Our employment attorneys help determine whether discrimination occurred and guide you through the process of pursuing a claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Workplace Harassment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Harassment at work is never acceptable\u2014and in many cases, it is illegal. Unlawful harassment includes unwelcome conduct based on protected traits that creates a hostile or intimidating work environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Common examples include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u2013 Sexual advances or inappropriate comments<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2013 Racist or discriminatory remarks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2013 Explicit texts, messages, or images<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2013 Requests for favors in exchange for job benefits<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Sexual harassment can come from supervisors, coworkers, customers, or vendors. If you are experiencing harassment, we can help you understand your rights and options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Retaliation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">You have the right to report discrimination, harassment, or other illegal conduct without fear of retaliation. Employers cannot lawfully punish you for speaking up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">If you believe your employer is retaliating after you reported misconduct or acted as a whistleblower, legal protections may apply. We help employees enforce those protections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Minimum Wage and Overtime<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Employees must be paid for all hours worked. Many wage violations involve:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u2013 Unpaid overtime<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2013 Off-the-clock work<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2013 Misclassification as exempt or as an independent contractor<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2013 Cash payments without pay stubs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2013 Altered or restricted time records<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">If you believe you have not been fully paid, we can assess whether your employer violated wage and hour laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Leaves of Absence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Employees may be entitled to protected leave for medical, family, pregnancy, disability, military service, or workplace injury reasons. Employers may not retaliate for requesting or taking legally protected leave and may be required to reinstate you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">If your leave was denied or mishandled, we can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Severance Agreements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Severance agreements are not just payments; they are legal contracts that often require you to waive important rights or accept restrictions like noncompete or nondisclosure clauses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">These agreements are often negotiable. You should speak with an attorney before signing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Noncompete Agreements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Noncompete agreements can limit your ability to work after leaving a job. While some are enforceable, many are overly broad and legally vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">If a noncompete is affecting your career options, we can evaluate its enforceability and advise you on next steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reach Out To Us<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Employers have lawyers protecting their interests. You deserve the same level of advocacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">If you believe your rights were violated at work\u2014or if you have questions about pay, contracts, or workplace treatment\u2014<strong>we\u2019re here to help<\/strong>.<br><br><strong>Contact us to learn more about your options.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/gelawllc.com\/contact-us\" style=\"background-color:#273c87\">Contact Us<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Serving clients in Missouri and Illinois, we represent employees who have been mistreated at work. You have legal rights as an employee, and those rights can be violated by employers, managers, or coworkers\u2014often resulting in discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or unpaid wages. You deserve a workplace where you can do your job without fear of mistreatment. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_theme","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-157","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gelawllc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gelawllc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gelawllc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gelawllc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gelawllc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=157"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/gelawllc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":353,"href":"https:\/\/gelawllc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/157\/revisions\/353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gelawllc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}