Documents to Show Your Attorney

If you have left a job on anything less than friendly terms–you were fired, laid-off, or asked to resign, you quit over a salary dispute, or you felt you had to quit because of how you were being treated by your employer–you will definitely want to consult an employment attorney. Your attorney will be able to tell you whether your rights were violated when you were laid off, or whether you have a case for unlawful termination even though technically you resigned. In order to get the most out of the initial consultation with the lawyer, it is a good idea to gather copies of the following documents into a folder to show the attorney. Be sure to make two copies–one for you to keep for yourself and one to leave at the law office should the attorney decide to take your case or wish to review them further.

• Your employment application.
• The company's employee manual or handbook.
• Any employment contract or agreement you may have had with the employer.
• Your job description.
• Any pre-employment screening documents, such as drug test results, background check, and letters of reference.
• Your resume.
• Payroll records, including records of paid leave accrued and used.
• Records of any in-house grievance proceedings in which you were involved.
• Names and addresses of co-workers who had similar employment problems, who have information about your situation, witnessed the events involved in why you are seeing the attorney, or who might be willing to testify on your behalf.
• Your attendance records.
• A diary or log, if you kept one, or a written chronology of events, with dates of particularly important employment problems and meetings. Be as thorough as possible. The attorney may ask you questions to further flesh out this chronology, but it will be of great value during the consultation.
• Performance evaluations and results of drug tests, employment tests, training completed, or other records of your job performance.
• Memoranda or correspondence, including printouts of e-mail messages, that relate to your termination or grievance.
• Accident reports, if applicable.
• Medical records, if applicable.
• Your financial and credit information.
• Salary information from your current job and/or unemployment compensation records.
• Information about your post-termination job search, including companies to which you have sent applications and where you have had interviews.

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