Employment Law

Protecting Your Rights in the Workplace

Problems at work can affect far more than your paycheck. Discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wrongful employment actions, and disputes over pay or leave can threaten your career, financial security, and peace of mind.

Attorney Eric Frankie helps Michigan employees understand their rights, evaluate their options, and take action when an employer may have crossed the legal line.

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Workplace Problems Can Have Serious Consequences

Not every unfair workplace decision is necessarily unlawful. But employees are protected by state and federal laws that place limits on how employers may treat workers and respond when employees exercise certain legal rights.

When something goes wrong at work, determining what happened — and whether the law provides a remedy — is not always straightforward.

With more than 33 years of legal experience, Eric Frankie helps employees make sense of difficult workplace situations, understand the protections that may apply, and determine an appropriate path forward.

Employment Law Matters

Workplace disputes can take many forms. Employment law matters may involve issues such as:

Workplace Discrimination

Employment decisions based unlawfully on characteristics protected by state or federal law may constitute discrimination. These disputes can involve hiring, termination, promotion, compensation, job assignments, discipline, or other terms and conditions of employment.

Harassment & Hostile Work Environment

Unlawful workplace harassment can involve unwelcome conduct connected to a legally protected characteristic. Depending on its nature and severity, harassment may create an intimidating, hostile, or abusive working environment.

Retaliation & Whistleblower Claims

Employees may have legal protections when they report discrimination, participate in an investigation, exercise certain workplace rights, or report suspected violations of law. An employer’s adverse response to protected activity may give rise to a retaliation or whistleblower claim.

Termination & Adverse Employment Actions

Michigan generally recognizes at-will employment, but an employer’s ability to terminate or take action against an employee is not unlimited. A termination, demotion, disciplinary action, or other employment decision may be unlawful when it violates anti-discrimination laws, retaliation protections, contractual obligations, or other legal rights.

Wages, Compensation & Benefits

Employees have legal protections concerning the payment of earned wages and certain benefits. Employment disputes may involve unpaid compensation, overtime, commissions, bonuses, deductions, or other compensation-related issues.

Medical Leave & Workplace Accommodations

State and federal laws may provide eligible employees with protections involving medical conditions, qualifying family or medical leave, disability-related accommodations, and an employee’s return to work.

Understanding Your Options

How Eric Can Help

Employment disputes can involve complicated facts, company policies, employment records, communications, and overlapping state and federal laws. Having an experienced attorney evaluate the circumstances can help you understand where you stand.

Listen to What Happened

Every employment dispute begins with the facts. Eric takes the time to understand your employment history, what occurred, who was involved, and how your employer responded.

Evaluate Your Legal Rights

The next step is determining which employment laws or legal protections may apply and whether the facts support pursuing a claim.

Develop a Strategy

Depending on the circumstances, a matter may involve communicating with an employer, negotiating a resolution, pursuing an administrative claim, or preparing for litigation.

Advocate for You

When legal action is appropriate, Eric brings decades of litigation experience to protecting your interests and pursuing a fair resolution.

Why Work With Eric Franke

Personal Attention

Employment disputes are personal. They involve your livelihood, your reputation, and often years of work invested in a career.

Eric brings more than 33 years of Michigan legal experience and a background in litigation and trial work to the representation of his clients.

His practice is grounded in a longstanding commitment to civil rights and protecting the rights of individuals. As a small law practice, clients also receive something that can be difficult to find at a large firm: direct communication and personal attention from the attorney handling their case.

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Over 33 Years of Experience

Decades of legal, litigation, and courtroom experience in Michigan.

Committed to Individual Rights

A career built around civil rights and advocacy for individuals.

Personal Representation

Your case receives individual attention rather than being passed through layers of a large firm.

Clear Communication

Understand your options, the legal process, and what comes next.

When Should You Speak With an Employment Attorney?

An initial consultation can help you understand whether your situation may involve a legal claim and what options may be available.

It may be worth seeking legal advice if you believe:

You were fired, demoted, disciplined, or denied an opportunity for a discriminatory reason.
You are experiencing serious or repeated harassment in the workplace.
Your employer retaliated against you after you reported discrimination, harassment, or other suspected wrongdoing.
You were treated differently after requesting medical leave or a workplace accommodation.
You have not received wages, compensation, or benefits you believe you earned.
You were terminated shortly after exercising a workplace right or reporting a legal concern.
Your employer is asking you to sign a severance agreement, release, or other document affecting your legal rights.
Something about your employer’s actions simply does not seem right and you want to understand your options.

Employment claims can be subject to deadlines, so it is often better to seek legal advice sooner rather than later.

Frequently Asked Questions

About Employment Law

Do you have other questions? Book a consultation or send us a message and ask directly.

What types of workplace discrimination are prohibited?

State and federal laws prohibit certain forms of employment discrimination based on protected characteristics. Depending on the law and circumstances, protections may involve race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, and other legally protected characteristics.

Whether a particular employment decision constitutes unlawful discrimination depends on the specific facts involved.

Is every unfair termination considered wrongful termination?

No. An employer can make a decision that feels unfair without necessarily violating employment law. However, an employer generally may not terminate an employee for an unlawful discriminatory reason, in retaliation for certain protected activities, or in violation of other applicable legal protections.

An attorney can evaluate the circumstances surrounding a termination and determine whether there may be grounds for a legal claim.

Can my employer retaliate against me for making a complaint?

Various state and federal laws protect employees from retaliation for certain legally protected activities. These may include reporting unlawful discrimination or harassment, participating in an investigation, requesting certain accommodations, or reporting suspected violations of law.

Whether an action qualifies as unlawful retaliation depends on what was reported or requested, what the employer did afterward, and the surrounding circumstances.

What should I do if I think my employer violated my rights?

Preserve any relevant documents, emails, text messages, employment policies, performance reviews, pay records, and other information relating to what occurred.

You should also consider speaking with an employment attorney promptly. Different types of employment claims can have different filing requirements and deadlines.

Should I speak with an attorney before signing a severance agreement?

It can be beneficial to have an attorney review a severance agreement before signing it. These agreements may contain releases of legal claims and other provisions affecting your rights after employment ends.

An attorney can explain what the agreement means and help you evaluate the terms before you make a decision.

How do I know whether I have an employment law case?

There is rarely a single fact that answers that question. Employment cases often depend on the reason for an employer’s action, the timing of events, communications between the parties, employment records, company policies, and the laws that apply.

A consultation gives you an opportunity to explain what happened and obtain an informed assessment of your options.

Questions About Your Rights at Work?

Start With a Conversation.

If you’re dealing with discrimination, retaliation, harassment, termination, a wage dispute, or another serious workplace problem, you don’t have to determine the legal issues on your own.

Talk with Eric Frankie about what happened, the protections that may apply, and what options you have for moving forward.

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