For about the past year the staff at Jonathan Perkins Injury Lawyers have been getting more and more calls from people who claim to have been discriminated against on the job.

Founder Jonathan Perkins and his staff of 60 people, including eight attorneys in five offices, had been referring most people to other firms. It soon became evident, Perkins told the Connecticut Law Tribune Thursday, that adding an employment discrimination practice to the growing firm would be the most prudent option.

So, on Dec. 14, the firm let it be known via billboards, word of mouth and many television advertisements that it was in the business of helping those who feel they face discrimination at work.

“It got to the point that we determined there was a need out there and we wanted to help fulfill that need,” the 57-year-old South Africa native and Woodbridge resident said. “One of the things we found when looking at the practice was that other firms required clients who had employment discrimination claims to pay up front, in addition to taking a percentage when they collect.”

Perkins said the policy of the firm, whether in personal injury, workers' compensation, Social Security, or now its employment discrimination division: no money will be asked for up front.

“We have spent many years working on a contingency basis and we found that clients like it,” said Perkins, who has since 2006 owned the firm that bears his name.

It's not clear to Perkins whether there is an increase in employment discrimination cases, but he believes more people know their rights today.

“We understand how serious the impact of employment discrimination can be,” he said. “We find that many dedicated employees believe they have been treated unfairly, but they don't know what legal procedures they are entitled to under federal and state law.”

Perkins collects 33.3 percent on cases stemming from personal injury verdicts and settlements. He said his firm will get paid 37.5 percent of damages awarded in employment discrimination cases.

The firm recently hired a support staff of two paralegals for its new practice. An attorney specializing in employment discrimination law will come on board in early 2019, he said. It is possible that more attorneys will be added, Perkins said.

“I expect, with the appropriate level of support staff, that the new attorney will be able to handle 25 cases at once,” Perkins said. “If you have a support staff that knows what they are doing, like ours, then it makes it more manageable for attorneys.”

While there are many types of employment discrimination cases, Perkins said he expects the bulk of his practice will involve handling sex, age and race discrimination lawsuits.