Employer Retaliation Again a Employee Who Threaten to Sue

NOTE TO READERS (seven/18/xv): Due to a technical event with the comments, replies that I tried to make to a number of commenters did non "mail service." I apologize. I recollect we have everything stock-still at present, and I've gone dorsum in this morning and replied to just about everybody unless the comment did non seek a response or I couldn't understand the comment. My responses are under the proper noun "InsiderBlog" or "Robin Shea." Thanks very much for your patience, and delight go on the comments coming!

Last week I busted on "my own side" by giving 4 reasons why employers shouldn't exist so quick to fire their employees. To be fair, this week I'll talk about the other side -- iv reasons why employees shouldn't exist as well quick to sue their employers.

DISCLAIMER: I am a defense lawyer. That ways that, in any kind of workplace legal dispute, I am on the employer's side, not the employee'due south side. Always. Even though many of my best friends are employees and plaintiffs' lawyers. The following is not legal advice.

So, y'all don't have to believe what I'm about to say. Only I brand this post in skilful faith, based on my feel and observations in many years of employment litigation.

Are you still here? Cool! Here we go.

one. Even if you got the shaft at work, it is unlikely that you were treated illegally. The law does non crave employers to treat their employees like "family," or to be overnice, or even to be especially fair. In fact, employers tin can usually be downright jerks as long every bit they are equally jerky to everybody. They tin can be arbitrary and play favorites as long equally they're not making distinctions based on "protected" categories, like race or sex.

In that location is no legal right to a warm and fuzzy workplace.

If you read this blog very often, you know that I am a strong advocate of treating employees respectfully, fairly, and with nobility. So is everybody in Human Resources who's worth a darn. Simply we feel that way because it's the right thing to exercise, non because it's the constabulary.

The American legal system would collapse in a heap if people could sue every time their feelings were hurt. Our arrangement is designed to preclude merely the worst kinds of behavior -- you know, like murder, armed robbery, and driving lxx in a 55. It'due south supposed to continue us from being at each others' throats. That'south it. Anything more is left to our respective senses of mutual decency. (Scary, I know!)

If y'all sue your employer, information technology won't be enough for you to testify that your employer made the wrong decision, or even that your employer was a no-goodnik. If you don't have a valid legal merits against your employer, and then you volition ultimately lose your case. I large reason to recall twice earlier you sue.

ii. Litigation is long, drawn-out, stressful, and painful. The but people who actually savour litigation are lawyers. No one else could possibly be that sick. And, here's a secret: not even lawyers are that crazy well-nigh litigation. Judges (who are usually lawyers) are always afterwards the parties to try to settle, which would terminate the case earlier the approximate has to hear it. Lawyers are ordinarily the same manner -- they are rarely averse to settlement, although they'll fight to the death if that's what the client wants. Why practise you think almost courts present have mandatory mediation? If fifty-fifty lawyers don't necessarily similar litigation, merely think about how much you will hate it.

"C'monday, you guys . . . DON'T Make US TRY THIS CASE!"

"Well," you antiphon, "if lawsuits are that bad, and then my employer volition pay any amount to get rid of it, right? So information technology'due south even so worth it to sue."

Well, no. Or, at least, not necessarily. You encounter, your employer gets sued a lot. This is what they telephone call a "cost of doing business organization" in the Us. It is true that your lawsuit will be stressful and disruptive for your company. But it will exist a lot more stressful and disruptive for you, who are not used to the court organization or dealing with lawyers, and yous don't even know whether it's a trap when the employer'southward lawyer says hello to you and offers to shake hands.

The distraction and stress of a lawsuit may also make it more than difficult for you to do well in your new job. And having to continually dwell on an unpleasant experience (every bit you'll have to do while your lawsuit lasts) is hard and stressful.

iii. You may discover out that your co-workers are not on your side. You feel very strongly that your employer did you lot wrong. You find a lawyer willing to accept your case. You sue, and get-go taking depositions of all of your co-workers, who were your BFFs when you worked in that location. Well. It turns out that your BFFs weren't such BFFs after all. They say, "I liked Maudie, simply I felt that she was out of line, and in my opinion she was treated adequately." And and so you have the co-worker who saw you lot when y'all were not at your best, and she testifies about all the things you said to her in conviction when yous were having a rotten day. Which are embarrassing. And which do non assist your instance. On the record. In a verbatim transcript, for cryin' out loud.

What happened to these people?

Well-nigh plaintiffs' lawyers will tell you that the co-workers are agape of retaliation past the company if they don't side with the company and diss yous. I am sure that happens sometimes, just I don't think information technology explains the bulk of these situations. What I run across nearly of the fourth dimension are two phenomena:

*Most people consider a lawsuit an "act of war." They probably were on your side when you lot all worked together and went out for mai tais and kvetched almost what was going on at the office. Just that was only gossip, harmless venting. Nobody idea you were really going to sue! And now, thanks to y'all, they're being dragged in front end of lawyers and court reporters and judges and juries, and they're ticked off. And perchance what they said to you in confidence nearly the boss is coming out -- while the boss is sitting beyond the tabular array with a stern-looking lawyer in a pinstripe adjust. Bad-mannered! No wonder they've turned on you.

Merely because they said it over these . . .

. . . doesn't mean they want to say it in front of these.

*Some employees really, sincerely practise believe the company was in the correct. Is the dominate perfect? Of course non. But he's an overall decent guy who tries to exist fair and care for employees correct. And peradventure you shouldn't have been so stubborn/absent from work/insubordinate/lazy yourself.

Retrieve No. 2, in a higher place. Finding out that your co-workers don't back up you is one of the "painful" parts.

4. You lot may exist opening upward your ain life to scrutiny. This is another "painful" part. In society to become more money, and because you actually were very upset when you were fired, your lawyer includes a claim for emotional distress in your lawsuit. Next affair you lot know, the company has asked for your medical and psychiatric records dating back 10 years. And maybe you saw a shrink a few times and have been diagnosed as bipolar. Forth with a few concrete weather condition that are not advisable to mention in a family unit blog. Surely you don't have to share that data with the company'south lawyers! Practise you?

You lot About CERTAINLY DO. If you merits emotional distress (you don't have to, but you may non get as much money if you lot don't), most courts say y'all have put your own emotional status at issue and the employer is entitled to find out how much of your (but as an example) bipolar disorder was caused by your termination and how much you had all along (in which example the company isn't responsible for it).

"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at ocean -- Norman has seen a psychiatrist 3 times and says his married woman doesn't understand him!"

Your employer may also be able to dig into your past employment record, including that time you got fired from a previous chore after yous tested positive for angel grit, your criminal background, your v previous marriages, and your history of filing lawsuits. Perhaps yous take goose egg to hibernate. Just a lot of people (well-nigh?) have a few skeletons that they'd just equally shortly not take the rest of the world know about.

What you probably don't have to worry about

At present, notation what I take not mentioned: (ane) That your employer volition burn you for filing the lawsuit (bold you did information technology while even so employed); or (2) that your employer volition blacklist you, and you'll never work once again if you sue. The reason that I did not mention these is that they very rarely happen. Retaliation -- either during employment or afterward -- for filing a lawsuit in adept faith against an employer is usually illegal, and almost all employers know that. If it happens and you tin prove information technology, you might take a pretty adept case. Only don't bet on being able to do that.

Of course, I'one thousand not maxim you should never file a lawsuit against an employer, but it should almost e'er exist a last resort. It'south meliorate to endeavor resolving your dispute through the company's grievance procedure or admissible policy, or past going to Human Resources. If you're terminated, y'all may exist better off negotiating a squeamish separation package and shaking the grit from your feet. If all of those fail, and if you've taken a proficient, critical look at your own performance and behavior, and still experience strongly that y'all were mistreated, then by all means consult with a lawyer who represents employees in workplace disputes. But keep in mind these subconscious costs of litigation that y'all'll face, no matter how stiff your example may exist.

Paradigm credits: Wikimedia Commons.

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Source: https://www.constangy.com/employment-labor-insider/last-week-i-busted-on