Augusta-Waterville, Maine Employment Lawyers

Maine’s capital since 1827, Augusta was named after the daughter of statesman Henry Dearborn who fought in the Revolutionary War. Augusta has many important historical sites including Fort Western, the country’s oldest wooden fort, where Benedict Arnold and his soldiers stayed briefly before heading to the Battle of Quebec. Today, the city is home to approximately 20,000 people. Twenty miles up the road is Waterville, the Elm City, which is home to approximately 15,000 as well as Colby College. Former governor and vice presidential candidate Ed Muskie and Senate Majority Leader and Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell both hail from Waterville.

Maine Employee Rights Group represents Augusta-Waterville employees in all types of employment discrimination litigation. Examples of cases we have recently handled for Augusta-Waterville employees include:

Age Discrimination

We represented a 57 year-old machinist who worked for a manufacturing facility for several years prior to being laid off as part of a reduction-in-force. At the time of layoff, our client was told he was eligible for rehire. Our client contacted the company several times but was not rehired. He later discovered that the company hired a 26 year-old for the same position he had held. The company tried to argue that our client could not bring a claim for age discrimination because he never filled out an actual job application and because he did not file his claim for discrimination until years later. We presented evidence that the reason our client never filled out an actual job application was because the company told him there were no openings and that his delay in filing was due to the company’s misrepresentation. The court issued a strongly worded decision favoring our client and setting a legal precedent that other employees may benefit from in the future. The case resulted in a monetary settlement to our client.

Disability Discrimination

Maine Employee Rights Group represented a longtime administrative employee of a major communications provider who was terminated after taking medical leave for major depression. We filed suit under the Maine Human Rights Act which includes major depression as a per se disability. We alleged that the company failed to provide our client with leave as a reasonable accommodation for her disability and terminated her because of her disability and need for leave. The company attempted to get the case dismissed on grounds that our Maine Human Rights Act claim was preempted by federal laws governing union contracts and health insurance benefits, argued that our client did not present enough facts from which a reasonable jury could find discrimination, and tried to exclude testimony from our client’s doctor regarding her condition. We defeated all of these attempts and the case resulted in a monetary settlement to our client.

If you have been discriminated against on the basis of age, denied a reasonable accommodation such as medical leave, or terminated because of your disability, call Maine Employee Rights Group today for a consultation, 207.874.0905.