A qualified employment law lead is a current or former employee with a specific type of claim, such as wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or unpaid wages. The adverse action happened recently enough to meet agency and filing deadlines, and the employer is large enough to be covered by the relevant law. The person also has some supporting documentation and does not already have a lawyer. Screening should capture the claim type and key dates first, because they decide almost everything else.
Employment law inquiries arrive with a wide range of situations. They include a firing that followed a complaint to HR, years of unpaid overtime, a manager’s comments about age or pregnancy, or a general sense that something unfair happened at work. Only some of those are legal claims, and even strong claims can be lost to a missed deadline. That makes employment one of the practice areas where careful screening saves the most attorney time.
As always, the most useful starting point is your own declined inquiries. Employment firms tend to see the same reasons over and over. The treatment was unfair but not illegal. The employer was too small for the law to apply. The agency deadline had already passed. Or the person was a contractor rather than an employee. Each of those becomes a screening question.
Common employment law screening dimensions
Claim type
Start by sorting the inquiry into a category: wrongful termination, discrimination based on a protected trait, harassment, retaliation for a protected activity, failure to accommodate a disability, unpaid wages or overtime, or a leave-related claim. The category decides which laws apply, which deadlines matter, and which attorney at your firm should see the lead. A short, plain-language list of options works better than an open text box, because many claimants don’t know the legal name for what happened to them.
Employment status and dates
Ask whether the person is a current or former employee, when they started, and when the adverse action happened, whether that was a firing, demotion, pay cut, or denied accommodation. Also ask how they were paid. Workers classified as independent contractors may still be employees under the law, but the question should be flagged early.
Filing and agency deadlines
Deadlines are the single most important screening issue in employment cases. Under federal law, a discrimination charge generally must be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 180 days of the discriminatory act. That extends to 300 days in states with their own fair employment agency. Federal wage claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act generally must be brought within two years, or three if the violation was willful. State laws add their own deadlines. A lead whose key date sits close to a deadline should be treated as urgent.
Employer size
Many employment laws only apply above a certain size. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act generally cover employers with 15 or more employees. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act covers employers with 20 or more. The Family and Medical Leave Act generally applies to employers with 50 or more employees. Some state laws reach smaller employers. A rough estimate of the employer’s size, captured during screening, tells your attorneys which laws may apply.
Internal complaints and agency charges
Ask whether the person complained internally to a manager or HR, and whether they have already filed a charge with the EEOC or a state agency. An internal complaint followed by a firing is the core of many retaliation claims. A charge that has already been filed means a deadline has been met and the matter is further along.
Documentation
Emails, texts, performance reviews, pay stubs, schedules, and termination letters make employment claims far easier to evaluate. Screening does not need to collect the documents. But knowing whether they exist, and whether the person still has access to them after leaving the job, helps intake decide how quickly to move.
Current representation and contact verification
Whether a lawyer is already involved is usually a hard disqualifier. Checking the phone number by SMS before delivery makes sure your team can reach the person.
Unfair is not always unlawful
The hardest part of employment screening is the gap between treatment that feels unfair and treatment the law prohibits. In most states employment is at will. An employer can generally fire someone for any reason that is not illegal, including a bad reason. Screening questions that ask why the person believes the action happened, and whether it was connected to a protected trait, a complaint, a leave request, or unpaid work, separate potential claims from workplace grievances without asking the claimant to make a legal judgment.
Hard criteria vs. preferences
Some criteria are thresholds: a passed deadline or a lawyer already in place usually ends the inquiry. Others are preferences that depend on your firm’s focus: specific claim types, minimum wage-loss amounts, or excluding current employees. Keep the two lists apart, write both down, and adjust preferences as you see which leads your attorneys accept.
This article is general information for law firms and is not legal advice. See our employment law lead program for how these criteria are applied in live campaigns.
Frequently asked questions
What is the deadline to file an EEOC charge?
Generally 180 days from the discriminatory act, extended to 300 days in states with their own fair employment agency. Deadlines vary by claim type, so leads near either date should be reviewed urgently.
Do employment laws apply to small businesses?
It depends on the law. Title VII and the ADA generally apply to employers with 15 or more employees, the ADEA to 20 or more, and the FMLA to 50 or more. Some state laws cover smaller employers.
Can a lead vendor tell whether someone has an employment claim?
No. Screening can capture the facts that matter, such as claim type, dates, employer size, and documentation. Whether a claim exists is a legal judgment for your attorneys.
Written by the IronFlow Legal team
IronFlow Legal builds exclusive lead generation campaigns for law firms across workers’ compensation, personal injury, slip and fall, employment, SSDI, and lemon law. Questions about anything in this article? Call (251) 233-4916 or send us a note.