For nearly thirty years I
have been a trial lawyer, practicing civil rights law and employment
law in Massachusetts, concentrating on the rights of employees who have
been subjected to discrimination or involving employment disputes
arising over such issues as race, sex, age, disability, ethnicity,
national origin, sexual orientation or retaliation.
Time after time, I have seen employers
miss opportunities to avoid gut-wrenching litigation. Instead of
dealing with problems, they avoid them. When the employment
relationship breaks down over one of the "hot-button" issues, where the
employee comes to believe that she or he is the victim of
discrimination, the employer just hasn't kept the house in order. The
laws forbidding discrimination in employment, federal and state,
actually provide the employer an opportunity for improved
inter-employee relations as each comes to understand the employer
insists that each employee will abide by the company policies, which
themselves comply with all relevant non-discrimination statutes. Every
day employers miss that opportunity, penny wise, pound foolish. Each
case in litigation is a monument to break-down in organizational
decision-making which forces the business, at a minimum, to pay large
legal bills to resolve what never had to be, what would never have been
with proper review of policies for compliance with discrimination laws,
proper training of all employees, use of workplace mediation to resolve
misunderstandings before it became Employee v. Employer.
I am not satisfied that the civil
justice system can be anything but a very last resort for wronged
employees. The laws are much less protective of employees than most
employees believe. For example, an employer is free to terminate an
"at-will" employee for any reason or no reason, as long as it is not
for
an illegal reason such as discrimination. Thus, much unfair, unjust or
unreasonable conduct is simply beyond the reach of the law. But if the
employee comes to believe that discrimination is involved, in the final
analysis everybody loses because litigation is slow, costly and
emotionally draining to all concerned. There must be a better way. I
think I have found it. Employees, if you have been subjected
to mistreatment by your employer or supervisor because you have tried
to prevent illegal conduct or for a similar improper reason, you may
wish to discuss whether you have a legal right to seek redress. I am
not accepting new cases on a contingent fee basis; I may, however, be
able to help you find a lawyer or "coach" your lawyer in the
development of a successful litigation strategy. Otherwise, I expect to
be developing On the Job
Solutions, a workplace discrimination prevention service for
employers.
