Georgia No Win No Fee Employment Lawyers

A no win, no fee lawyer gets paid for representing a client in a case only if the case is won. This means that if the case is lost, the client does not have to pay their lawyer any fee at all. Their lawyer assumes the risk that the case will be lost and does not collect a fee if it is.

What Does “No Win, No Fee” Mean?

“No win, no fee” is a term that refers to the fact that the lawyer charges their client what is called a “contingency fee” in legal terminology. As noted above, it means that the lawyer’s fee is contingent on whether the client’s case is won or lost. A lawyer who charges a contingency fee collects a percentage of any amount of money they win for their client in their case. So, if the case is lost, the lawyer would not collect any fee at all for their representation.

The client may have to cover the costs of litigation. There are costs to filing a lawsuit and contingency lawyers sometimes require the client to cover some or all of the costs. The client might be reimbursed from an award of money damages, if they receive one in their case. If the lawyer pays the costs, they may be reimbursed from the damages award.

For example, whether the case is won or not, the following expenses may have to be paid:

• Court Fee for Filing: Courts charge a fee to file a civil complaint. It may cost from $200 to $300 to file a civil lawsuit in a Georgia Superior Court. A complaint for employment discrimination or wrongful termination would be a civil case. There would then be additional fees for serving the complaint on the defendant, filing motions, and filing any appeals. These costs have to be paid whether or not the case is won.
• Copying Costs: An individual can anticipate that their lawyer will have to copy a large number of documents in the course of preparing and trying a civil case. The copying fees can mount up and total hundreds of dollars.
• Preparation of Transcripts: There may be hearings on motions before a case goes to trial, and an individual’s lawyer may need to have transcripts of these hearings. There is a cost to preparing a transcript. If there are depositions of witnesses, an individual’s lawyer may need to have transcripts prepared. There is a fee for this, also.
• Expert Witness Fees: An employment case may require the opinion of an expert witness might be needed to support an employment case. For example, an economist might be necessary. They would analyze the economic effect of the victim’s firing on their future employment, if they were fired.
  • Or, a statistician may be required to analyze data from a worker’s former workplace regarding the effect of the employer’s practices on different groups, e.g., members of different racial groups or people of different genders. These witnesses would have to be paid whether or not the worker’s case is won.

Again, no win, no fee employment lawyers may pay the costs themselves, or they may ask the client to pay these costs, or a portion of them, whether or not they prevail in the case. If the case is won and the client paid the costs, they might be reimbursed for their payments. If their lawyer fronted the money to pay costs, they might be reimbursed for their payments.

How Much Is the Fee?

A Georgia lawyer charges a percentage of any award of money damages that they win for their client. The percentage may vary depending on when the case comes to a positive conclusion. The percentage may be between 30 to 40% of the money recovered, if the case comes to a conclusion soon after the complaint is filed.

If the case is settled close to the time at which the trial is set to begin, the percentage may go up to 40%. If the case must be tried before a jury, the fee may rise to 50%. These amounts are estimates only.

An individual should always ask their lawyer what their fee is going to be. Again, as noted above, the contingency fee agreement may provide that the costs of litigation would be reimbursed from the award of money damages, if there is one.

What Types of Employment Cases Use “No Win, No Fee” Fees?

Attorneys would not accept every case involving employment law on a contingency fee basis. Contingency fees are most appropriate for lawsuits in which the plaintiff seeks an award of money damages, possibly one that would be substantial, because this award is what yields the contingency fee.

Wrongful termination cases are frequently handled this way, especially when the firing violates such federal laws as the federal CRA, which, as noted above, prohibits termination of employment based on race, gender or other protected characteristics.

Complaints that allege violations of the ADEA or the ADA are also commonly taken on by a lawyer on a contingency fee basis. The potential for back pay and other damages makes these claims appropriate for no win, no fee representation.

What Is Employment Law in Georgia?

Georgia employment laws do not offer much in the way of benefits or protections to workers in that state. Some examples are as follows:

• Georgia Minimum Wage: The Georgia minimum wage is $5.15 per hour, which is less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour set by the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA). All businesses engaged in interstate commerce or with gross annual sales above $500,00 must pay the federal wage. Most Georgia employers are subject to the FLSA and must pay the federal minimum wage to all of their non-exempt employees.
• Paid Vacation: Georgia law does not require employers to give their employees vacation time, either paid or unpaid. If an employer has a policy, it must honor its own policy. If an employer has a contract with an employee that provides paid vacation, of course, the employer must honor its contractual obligation.
• Overtime Pay: Employees in Georgia are entitled to overtime pay on the same basis as is required by federal law. All non-exempt employees must be paid 1.5 times their regular pay rate for hours worked over 40 hours per week.
• Meal and Rest Breaks: Employers in Georgia are not legally obligated to give their employees meal or rest breaks. Short rest breaks, i.e., less than 30 minutes long, must be paid per the federal FLSA requirements. Longer meal breaks may be unpaid if they last 30 minutes or longer and the worker is free from work duties during the break.

So, for example, if an employee has an hour for lunch and is free to leave the workplace to run errands, their employer would not have to pay them for that hour.

In addition to Georgia laws, there are many significant federal laws that regulate employers and workplaces in Georgia. An employee is more likely to turn to these federal laws as they provide greater protections and benefits than do Georgia laws. For example, an individual might have a claim under any of the following federal laws:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (CRA): The CRA bans employers from discriminating against their employees on the basis of gender, race, color, religion, or national origin. The definition of “employer” includes both private employers as well as local, state, and federal governments and government agencies.
• The Equal Pay Act (EPA): The EPA protects employees from gender-based pay discrimination. Employers must pay all employees equally for equal work.
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA): The ADEA protects employees who are 40 years and older from age discrimination. It prohibits such practices as an employer forcing an employee to retire because of their age.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): As with other anti-discrimination laws, this prohibits discrimination against a person based on their disability. Per the ADA, employers must provide disabled employees with the reasonable accommodations they need to do their jobs.
• The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA): The IRCA imposes various practices on employers regarding their employees’ immigration status. For example, it addresses when and how an employer should verify that employees are eligible to work in the U.S.
• The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): The FMLA is a federal law that sets the rules regarding why, how and when employees may take unpaid medical leave. Among other provisions, it protects an employee from being fired while on approved medical leave.

Often, claims made that allege violations of federal law, e.g., claims of employment discrimination, must first be submitted to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC investigates and may take action itself. Or, it may issue a right-to-sue letter to the complainant, and they can then hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit.

What Do Employment Lawyers Do in Georgia?

An employment lawyer may work with employers to review its employment policies and procedures in order to avoid problems in connection with job applicants and employees. They would want to ensure that their practices comply with all applicable Georgia and federal laws.

In addition, an employment lawyer may represent clients in cases that involve violations of the federal or Georgia laws summarized above. For example, if a worker has been the victim of wage theft, because they have not been paid the wages they are owed, under Georgia law, the worker can file a private lawsuit against their employer.

In their lawsuit, the worker would be able to recover the wages that are owed to them, liquidated damages, fees, and other related expenses. Liquidated damages are an amount of money that is set by a contract between the parties. The victim does not have to prove the amount of any loss or harm they suffered. Rather, their contract, if they have one, specifies an amount the wrongdoer must pay to compensate them for their trouble.

As an example of wage theft, in Georgia, a waitress must be paid minimum wage. If they do not collect enough tips to make their wages amount to the minimum wage on average, their employer must make up the difference. If their employer does not pay as required by law, the waitress may file a lawsuit to collect the wages they are owed.

If an individual’s employer has withheld their pay, they may even be charged with a crime and the first offense could lead to a fine of up to $10,000 from the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor.

An individual may believe that they have not been paid for all the hours they have worked or were not paid what they are legally owed, e.g., time and a half for overtime. Filing a claim for wage theft would involve collecting all relevant documents that support their claim, filing a lawsuit and then waiting for a result.

An individual could feel that they want a lawyer’s help in collecting together their documentation and dealing effectively with the legal system. A lawyer may represent the individual on a flat fee or hourly fee basis.

Many other types of cases are possible. An individual who has a written employment contract that their employer has breached by failing to pay them what was promised in the contract or firing them in violation of the contract’s terms could sue their employer for breach of contract.

An employee may have signed a non-compete agreement (NCA) with a previous employer that they may fear they would breach in accepting employment with another business. They may need a legal consultation in Georgia to review their NCA and prospective new employment in order to avoid a lawsuit.

Both Georgia and federal employment law cover a wide variety of issues in the workplace, and a Georgia employment lawyer may deal with any of them.

What Are Other Types of Employment Lawyer Fee Arrangements in Georgia?

The other main types of legal fees charged by Georgia employment lawyers are the hourly fee and the flat fee. In an hourly fee arrangement, the lawyer charges a set amount, e.g., $350, for each hour they spend working on a client’s case. The lawyer carefully tracks the time they spend on a case and bill the client, usually monthly, for the total amount of time they worked in that month.

In a flat fee case, a lawyer tells the client at the beginning of the case the total fee that they would charge them for handling the case from beginning to end.

In some cases, the law may allow the plaintiff in a case to recover their attorney’s fees from the person they sue, the “defendant” in legal terminology, if the plaintiff prevails in the case. If the law allows the plaintiff to recover their attorney’s fee, their attorney usually submits a bill based on an hourly fee to the court for approval. When the court is satisfied that the bill is reasonable, they would order the defendant to pay the plaintiff’s attorney fee.

How Much Does an Employment Lawyer Cost in Georgia?

Of course, legal fees in Georgia depend on a number of factors. One is the type of fee the lawyer charges, whether hourly, contingent or flat. In a case in which the lawyer takes a percentage of an award of money damages won for the client, they might make a significant sum of money. It would depend on the percentage and the amount of the award they win.

In a straightforward wage theft case, a lawyer might charge an hourly fee. They could earn a fee that amounts to several hundred dollars. In a flat fee case, it depends on the nature of the case and the fee the lawyer agrees to accept. But the total fee might be in the neighborhood of $1500 to $2500.

The employment lawyer cost would also depend on the market in which the lawyer practices. In big cities, such as Atlanta, lawyers are likely to charge higher fees than they would in small towns and rural areas.

An individual should always ask their lawyer to fully explain the fee they plan to charge them in their case. They should have a written agreement with their lawyer which clearly states the fee arrangement.

An individual should know how they are going to be charged and what their lawyer’s representation will cost per hour or in total, if it is a flat fee. If the lawyer plans to charge a contingency fee, the client wants to know what the percentage is and how costs are to be paid.

Do I Need To Hire a Georgia Employment Law Attorney?

You may need to talk to a Georgia employment lawyer for many different reasons. An employer may want you to sign a non-compete agreement before they hire you. Your employer may not have paid you what you are owed under minimum wage and overtime laws. You may have been fired wrongfully or denied reasonable accommodations for your disability.

Whatever the reason, you want to have a Georgia employment lawyer review your situation and advise you as to the best next step for you to take. Your lawyer can help you get the pay to which you are entitled by law or your contract. Your lawyer can protect your right to fair treatment in the workplace or get you the relief you deserve if your employer violates the law.