What happens when you call us

What happens when you call us

People hesitate before making this call. Usually for one of three reasons: they think they'll be pressured into something, they don't know what it will cost, or they're afraid of hearing that they waited too long.

So here is the whole process, in advance.

It costs nothing and it takes about twenty minutes

The first call is free. There is no fee for it and no obligation after it.

It usually takes fifteen to twenty-five minutes, and most of that is you talking and us asking about dates.

You will not be asked to sign anything on that call. We do not take engagements over the phone on a first conversation, and if anyone in this area of law is pushing you to commit during an introductory call, that is worth noticing.

Have these in front of you

The call goes much better if you have your documents. You don't need all of them, but bring what you have:

• Your accommodation or exemption request, the actual document you

submitted, not a summary of it. What it says matters a great deal.

• The denial, and any correspondence about it.
• Your termination or resignation letter, or documentation of whatever

happened, leave, transfer, retirement.

• Anything from the EEOC or the Minnesota Department of Human Rights,

including a right-to-sue notice.

• Any court filings, if you filed a case, and especially any order dismissing

it.

• Your employer's policy as it existed at the time, if you kept a copy.

If you have none of these, call anyway. But dates are what the first call is mostly about, and documents are where the dates live.

What we'll ask

Four things, roughly in this order.

What happened, and when. Specific dates. When you submitted the request, when it was denied, when you were terminated or left. These determine whether there is anything to talk about, so we ask them early rather than at the end.

What your request actually said. Not what you meant, and not what you believe , what the document said. The recent circuit decisions turn substantially on the contents of the written request.

What your employer did in response. Whether there was any interactive process, whether alternatives were discussed, whether other employees were treated differently.

Where things stand now. Whether you filed anything, whether a case is pending, whether a court has ruled.

What we'll tell you

One of four things, and we'll say which.

"You appear to be outside the deadlines." For a significant number of people calling in 2026 about a 2021 or 2022 termination where nothing was ever filed, this is the answer. We will say it directly rather than gently, because a soft answer leaves people hoping. If we say this, you don't need to call anyone else, and you can stop carrying it.

"You may have something, and here's what we'd need to look at." Usually this means sending documents for a closer read before anyone commits to anything.

"This is time-sensitive and we need to move now." Most often when there is a recent dismissal and an appeal deadline running, generally 30 days from entry of judgment in federal court.

"You have a claim, but not one we're the right firm for." It happens. Some of these matters belong with a trial-focused employment firm rather than an appellate practice. When that's the case we say so, and where we can, we point you somewhere sensible.

What we won't do

We won't tell you your case is strong in order to get you off the phone and into an engagement letter. Assessing a case honestly on a first call is most of the value we can offer at that stage.

We won't argue with you about vaccines. We don't take positions on vaccine safety, efficacy, or the origins of the pandemic, in our cases or otherwise. Those aren't employment law questions. Ours is narrower: when your sincere religious belief conflicted with a condition of employment, what did the law require your employer to do?

And we won't promise an outcome. Nobody honest can. The recent appellate decisions we've written about, Ringhofer, Bube, Brokken, reversed dismissals and returned those cases to the district courts to be litigated. That is meaningful and it is not a guarantee of anything for anyone else. Every case turns on its own facts.

If you're not ready to call

That's fine. Two things worth doing anyway.

Find your documents and put them somewhere you can locate them. Whatever you eventually decide, that will help.

And check your dates against the general deadlines: 300 days for an EEOC charge in Minnesota, one year under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, 30 days for a notice of appeal from a federal dismissal. Those are general rules with fact-specific exceptions, but if any of your dates are close to any of those numbers, don't wait until you feel ready.

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