by admin | Feb 28, 2019 | Discrimination, Employment Law, Free Consultations, Legal Matters Discussed, News Around Indy
In the next five years, approximately 25% of our workforce will be 55 years or older. For some people like Bruce Arians, a former Colts NFL football coach, jobs are still opening up. But how are things going for the rest of our older workers? Are you an older professional that was just fired or handed a severance package?
Demographics show a large portion of the Baby Boomer generation is still working. Whether its because they need to work or because they want to work, many 50+ year olds are not retiring. Theoretically, our federal law protects employment discrimination against workers 40 years of age and older. The law is known as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, or the “ADEA”. But not all employers follow the law, and it’s much tougher for older workers to find new jobs – let alone financially recover from an unexpected severance.
In Indianapolis, our attorneys see this scenario commonly unfold in the medical industry. Goodin Abernathy LLP attorneys are experienced with pharmaceutical and medical device representatives suddenly facing a “forced retirement.” Typical scenarios show the experienced reps are asked to train new, younger sales people. The trainees tag along, meet the customers and learn the ropes. Then, if they aren’t fired, the older rep’s territory just gets split up. Part of the territory is assigned to the younger worker, while the older rep’s compensation package does not change. This means the experienced worker just trained themselves into a pay cut. You can imagine what happens after a little more time when the younger worker learns the ropes: they’re handed both territories and the older worker is shown the door.
Other times the older, experienced worker gets pushed out or “harassed out” of their position. Their younger managers start building flimsy records of statistical violations. They say the older worker isn’t making enough sales calls; is not attending enough meetings; fails to use the company’s technology correctly, etc.
Behind the scenes, the company’s strategy is simple: replace the higher paid, experienced worker with cheaper labor offered by young workers. The older workers – who devoted their careers to improving the company’s interests – get cut loose by new or younger managers trying to make their own numbers look better.
Another typical scheme involves luring away experienced, older workers from competitors. After the older worker shares her book of business and discloses other proprietary information, the new company abruptly lets them go. The new company just wanted the work intel for its younger reps and never really planned to keep the new, older hire on board.
When companies plug younger workers into jobs and push out 40+ year old workers, the experienced workers should contact our Goodin Abernathy LLP attorneys for an ADEA evaluation.
Contact Goodin Abernathy LLP, and we will tell you how to look for signs of illegal ageism or age discrimination. Consult us and we will explain the legal process for an ADEA or EEOC claim with an eye towards enforcing your legal rights.
by Jim Browne | Feb 1, 2019 | Discrimination, Employment Law, Free Consultations, Legal Matters Discussed
What happens to whistleblowers and workers facing discrimination in the work place? Tricia Newbold, a dwarf, claims the White House is freezing her out of a job (see article here).
This story reminds me of one of the best cases, and clients, we’ve helped over the years. It involves an American with Disabilities Act claim and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) – legal areas which Goodin Abernathy LLP is experienced in, litigating cases with earnest to represent our clients.
Our client, “B”, is an Achondroplasia Dwarf. Outside of being a dwarf, B had normal dreams and aspirations like the rest of us had at a young age. B came to us because while she was working at a major restaurant chain, a manager and co-workers discriminated against her. They held her back from a job promotion and occasionally made disparaging remarks about her physical stature. They thought it was funny – but the remarks were mean to B.
B started as a hostess and wanted to get promoted to serving tables. Waitresses made more than those in the hostess position. Although the position required different physical requirements, B was up for the challenge.
The problem was, the restaurant outright denied her requests to be a server. On top of it, they were callous about it. The employer did not take time to consider what our laws say about equal opportunity for all workers. And probably worse yet, they did not take the time to consider the moral issues involved with the situation.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and its 2008 update, the ADA Amendments Act (“ADAAA”), provide legal protection for disabled workers in our country. Goodin Abernathy LLP submitted a Charge of Discrimination for B with the local EEOC office. When the EEOC gave us a “Right to Sue” letter, we filed a legal complaint against the employer in Federal Court.
We collected evidence in B’s case, showing the employer failed to reasonably communicate with her about the server’s position. Nor did they consider whether reasonable accommodations would have easily allowed B to perform the server’s job. On top of that, our investigation revealed the rude comments by staff and B’s supervisors.
The company’s attorneys fought and complained, but we did not give up. We did not expect a lot. We did not expect for B to retire on the case – but we did expect to win. B recovered financial compensation allowed under the law. And, we won, because as attorneys, we used the law and fought for somebody’s equal rights.
Contact attorney Chip Clark at Goodin Abernathy, LLP with any ADA or EEOC questions you have. Give us a chance to partner with you – fighting for the legal rights you morally deserve.
by admin | Aug 22, 2017 | Employment Law, Legal Matters Discussed
Are you facing an embarrassing issue at work? Is there a problem that might hurt your reputation and even your professional license? Fortunately, we may be able to help.
Even if what happened wasn’t necessarily criminal, it can still damage or destroy your professional reputation. You may face discipline from a professional licensing body, or you may face difficulty securing new employment. The good news is that our professional employment lawyers here in Indianapolis help deserving clients minimize damage and keep their careers in tact.
What Kinds of Offenses Can Tarnish Your Professional Reputation?
There may be a number of different ways that you might get in trouble at work. You may have been caught sexting or watching pornography on the job. There may be issues with sending inappropriate emails on company servers. Even what you do in your personal life might create professional problems.
Perhaps you’ve been accused of stealing from the company. Maybe you’ve been accused of inappropriate behavior with a client. Maybe something as simple as failing to report a criminal conviction to a supervisor can land you in hot water.
If you’ve made a mistake at work, the employer might claim that the error reflects on your professional ability. You might fail to meet targets in a way that results in your dismissal. Insubordination or failing to follow regulations are other problems that might cause an issue with your professional license and reputation in the community.
We Can Help You Minimize the Damage to Your Reputation
We work with deserving clients in order to help them defend their character and minimize damage as much as possible. No matter where you’re at in the process, we can work with you in order to help you defend yourself and preserve your career. This is critical at all stages when you face an embarrassing work issue.
Negotiating with Your Employer
Even before the professional licensing agency becomes involved, we can help you minimize the situation and mitigate the circumstances. It may be as simple as working together in order to present evidence to the employer that shows your side of the story. There may be ways that we can ask the employer for documents or records that can help the employer to make sense of the situation.
From there, we work with the employer to negotiate a resolution that may protect you. Perhaps rather than terminating your employment, you can agree to complete education courses. If they absolutely insist on termination, we can help you negotiate favorable terms.
For example, you may work with the employer in order to accept your resignation rather than report you as fired for cause. This can be invaluable to securing your next employment. We might be able to negotiate another reason for your departure. We might work with the employer to reach a non-disclosure agreement so that they don’t discuss the matter with professional colleagues or prospective employers. Most importantly, they might agree to terminate you for a reason that isn’t going to be as damaging to your professional license.
Helping with Professional Licensing Issues
Even if your embarrassing issue comes to the attention of the professional licensing authority that oversees your work, all is not lost. There are ways that we can work with the licensing board in order to defend your career and license. In some cases, this means aggressively defending the charges against you. In other cases, it means negotiating for the best possible disposition.
For example, if you’re an attorney that faces an allegation of misappropriating client funds, we can negotiate with the bar for an appropriate resolution. Even if the association doesn’t agree to dismiss the allegations against you, they might agree to issue a warning rather than a suspension. That can mean the difference between staying in business or needing to close up shop.
How We Do It
Our passion for helping our clients get back to their lives is what drives us to give 100 percent in each case. We offer thorough, professional services without judgment. You’re going through a stressful time. We can deal with the stress on your behalf. Our team gets to the heart of the matter, and we make sure that we don’t miss details that can provide you a defense or mitigate your case.
Handling your case is about so much more than just knowing the laws and licensing rules. This type of case takes tact. It takes sensitivity and an eye for knowing how to approach the employer and the licensing authority.
No matter your licensing issue, we can help. Whether you’re a real estate agent, insurance professional, attorney, day care provider, health care professional, teacher or other licensed professional, we can help the licensing agency see why you’re an asset to the profession. Not only do we help the employer or licensing board understand the true nature of the allegations against you, but we help them understand why you’re an asset to your profession.
Contact Us
If you’re facing a potentially embarrassing professional issue, we invite you to contact us. Our team offers understanding and compassionate service aimed at helping you preserve your career and get back to life as normal as quickly as possible. Our consultations are free. Please contact us today to talk about your case.
by admin | Jul 3, 2017 | Employment Law, Legal Matters Discussed
Do you feel that you face discrimination in the workplace? Are you being bullied or pushed out of your job unfairly? A number of employees in Indiana, ranging from junior staff to those in the upper management find themselves in this situation.
Common Harassment Issues in the Workplace
While no two discrimination or harassment cases are exactly the same, there are certain common issues that can arise such as:
- Hostile Work Environment – Is a supervisor or co-worker making your job unbearable? Just because the demands of a job are hard, does not mean that you are being harassed or discriminated against, or that your work environment is hostile. You must ask yourself if you are being treated differently because you are a member of a protected class. That is to say, are they doing this to me because of my gender, race, age, national origin, or because of a disability?
- Unequal Pay – Are you being paid less than your counterparts simply because of your gender? For example, are you a woman being paid less than your similarly situated male colleague for the same amount of work.
- Unusual Work Demands – Is your employer asking you to do work that is not being demanded of your co-workers simply because of your race or national origin? This may be discrimination.
If you feel you are experiencing discrimination or harassment on the basis of your race, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, age (over 40) or pregnancy, you should talk to an experienced employment law attorney immediately. There are laws that protect employees from this type of harassment and discrimination, and you should know and understand your rights.
Most companies encourage an open and inclusive work culture. However, many people are afraid to speak up or report discriminatory behavior for fear of being retaliated against. Federal laws also protect employees from retaliation if they speak truthfully and report abuses, or participate in an investigation.
Some examples of the many Federal and State laws that protect employees in Indiana include:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (1964)- This prohibits discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin or sex;
- The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (1967)(“ADEA”)- This act prohibits the age discrimination of individuals over 40;
- Civil Service Reform Act (1978)- This act prohibits discrimination by any Federal employers on the basis of color, race, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, and political affiliation;
- Sections 1981 through 1988 of Title 42 of the United States Code;
- The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)- The act prohibits discrimination against any qualified individuals with disabilities;
- The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act;
Indiana Age Discrimination Act, IC 22-9-2-1, et seq.;
- Indiana Civil Rights Law, IC 22-9-1-1, et seq.;
- Indiana Minimum Wage Law, IC 22-2-2-1, et seq., including the Indiana Equal Pay Act;
- Indiana Employment Discrimination Against Disabled Persons Act, IC 22-9-5-1, et seq.;
- Indiana State Wage Payment and Work Hours Laws, including IC 22-2-4-1 et seq., IC 22-2-5-1, et seq., and IC 22-2-9-1, et seq.;
- Indiana Family Military Leave Law, IC 22-2-13-1, et seq.
Discrimination in the Workplace – Points to Consider
Every case is different, but if you feel that you are being discriminated against in your workplace, you must first follow your employer’s procedures to notify the employer and give them the opportunity to take corrective action. If that is not successful, then the next step may be filing a Charge of Discrimination with a Federal or State agency that enforces the existing labor laws allegedly being violated. Some of the vital points to consider are:
- Know your rights- Make it a point to know your employer’s policies are on harassment, and discrimination, as well as their procedures for making a complaint. This will give you a clearer idea about whether your company is treating you unfairly.
- Maintain records- Maintain a detailed record of emails, conversations and times as well as events related to your unfair treatment. This evidence may later be vital in proving your claim.
- Seek advice from experts- An experienced Indiana discrimination lawyer will be able to provide a free phone consultation and can give you basic information about your rights and whether you actually have a case.
- Don’t resign abruptly- While it can be very tempting to just walk out and then bring a case, you may waive potential claims if you just resign voluntarily. Always consult with an attorney and know what you may be giving up before you voluntarily leave your employment.
- Act without delay- If your feel that you have been the victim of harassment or discrimination, or that you have been wrongfully terminated due to retaliation or discrimination, there are deadlines for making a claim. The time to file a Charge of Discrimination with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) is usually 180 days from the date the last discrimination occurred. However, this deadline can be extended to 300 days if the charge is covered by a local/state anti-discrimination laws. In almost all cases, you are first required to file your Charge of Discrimination with the agency that enforces the applicable law before you can file a lawsuit. This process is known as “exhausting your administrative remedies.”
by Christopher Clark | Oct 30, 2015 | Employment Law, Legal Matters Discussed
In the recent case of EEOC v. Consol Energy, Inc., 1:13-cv-00215 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia (more info), the claimant, Beverly R. Butcher, Jr. had worked as a general inside laborer at the companies’ mine in Mannington, W.V., for over 35 years. When the mining company required employees to use a newly installed biometric hand scanner to track employee time and attendance, Butcher repeatedly informed company officials that submitting to biometric hand scanning violated his sincerely held religious beliefs as an Evangelical Christian. He wrote a letter to company officials explaining his beliefs about the relationship between hand-scanning technology and the “Mark of the Beast” and the Antichrist discussed in the New Testament’s Book of Revelation. Mr. Butcher requested an exemption from the hand scanning as a reasonable accommodation based on his sincerely held religious beliefs.
Consol argued that Butcher admitted that the current version hand scanner left no actual mark; however, he testified that these scanners “are being used as part of a system of identification being put into place that will be used to serve the antichrist as foretold in the New Testament Book of Revelation and which creates an identifier for followers of the antichrist known as ‘The Mark of the Beast,’” and that “[t]he fact that a believer draws a line at the first step in what he sincerely believes to be an immoral process rather than the last step of that process does not alter the employer’s accommodation duty.”
The EEOC repudiated Consol’s attempts to poke holes in the logic of Butcher’s beliefs, contending that it is unconstitutional for Consol to demand theological accuracy or consistency. “[A]s EEOC has previously pointed out, and as the Court instructed the jury, religious beliefs need not be seen as rational, doctrinally consistent, or accurate in order to be protected under Title VII.”
The jury in this case unanimously awarded Mr. Butcher $150,000 in compensatory damages. The Court also ordered that Consol Energy must also pay Butcher an additional $436,860.74 in back pay and front pay for the Title VII violations found by the jury.
If you believe you are a victim of religious discrimination, or your employer is failing to accommodate your firmly held religious beliefs, you should seek the advice of an experienced employment law attorney. Call or request a free consultation with Goodin Abernathy’s Indianapolis Employment Lawyers.
by admin | Aug 28, 2015 | Employment Law, Legal Matters Discussed, Personal Injury, Worker's Comp, Wrongful Death
Recently the US Department of Labor posted a story on their Facebook page about a temporary worker who was crushed to death on the first day of his job at a bottling facility.
In 2013, The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced an initiative to improve safety conditions for temporary workers.
When a worker is employed by a temporary agency and is assigned to a specific host employer, both the agency and the host have responsibilities to ensure the safety of employees. https://www.osha.gov/temp_workers/ Unfortunately many temporary workers are injured on the job, some on their first day as in the case of the worker in the bottling facility.
The attorneys of Goodin Abernathy LLP have experience representing injured temporary workers when they are injured on the job. Even if it was your first day or first week on the job site you have rights as an employee in Indiana if you are injured on-the-job– even if you are a temporary employee. Many of our Spanish-speaking clients work for temporary agencies and have suffered injuries at work. These cases present unique circumstances and challenges for workers. If you have been injured while employed by a staffing agency and have questions, don’t hesitate to call us—317-843-2606.
