• How employees, whether applicants, employed, or formerly employed, must be treated by their employers

• How employees could counteract on employers' violation of their rights and vice versa

• How employers could discipline their employees in order for them to achieve company goals

A highly experienced and skilled employment attorney knows that he or she has to protect both the employers and employees' rights under the law, fairly, according to a given situation. He or she is aware that he plays a significant role in reducing the risks involved for the employer and employee in certain situations, through the reasonable and lawful directions they would provide.

Functions of the employment attorney, depending on his or her client:

• Business owners and employers

o Review the company's employment manuals, employee's handbook and the company's policy statements.

o Represent them before the Labor Commissions Boards, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other employment and human rights agencies

o Assist in implementing laws and claims concerning wages and hours

o Provide necessary legal assistance in mediation proceedings

o Represent the employer during grievance, claims and arbitration hearings

o Represent the employer on charges or lawsuits filed against him or her or the company.

o Counsel and represent the employer's side in collective bargaining agreements with the employees' union or trade unions

o Provide qualified legal advice concerning issues of strikes or lockouts and represent the company during litigation.

By retaining an employment attorney, companies can be saved of many worries regarding implementation of employment and labor laws and decisions concerning the workplace policies.

• Employees

o Counsel and represent them in claims or lawsuits that involve illegal termination, discrimination, sexual harassment, deviation from signed employment contracts, issues on wage and compensations, employee's severance package, etc.

Employment attorneys are the best providers of knowledge concerning state and national employment laws, implemented to avoid conflicts between employers and employees and protect the rights of all sides. They are also the most capable in providing good directions for compliance on these laws.

In order to find the best employment attorneys, here are several leads:

• Local bar associations – these can be very good sources since they can refer you to one or several of their colleagues who are known experts in employment matters.

You can also try contacting the National Lawyers' Association. They have thousands of member – attorneys and one of them can be the particular employment attorney you can comfortably work with.

• Lawyer websites – nowadays many employment attorneys maintain their websites, respecting the fact that many people now check online for every kind of services imaginable, especially legal services.

The attorneys' websites have details related to their respective practice areas or areas of expertise.

• Yellow Pages – you can check out practicing employment attorneys listed herein.

• Friend or Family referrals – one of your friends or member of your family may have been involved in an labor and employment case and has worked well with an employment attorney, you might like to check out their references.