Archive for year: 2016

Hiring an employment discrimination attorney after you have been fired may be more than a little intimidating. After all, you just lost your job. How will you afford a lawyer? And how much does an employment discrimination attorney charge, anyway?

In this blog I will explain Eisenberg & Baum’s contingency fee policy, and what it means for your workplace discrimination claim. I will also explain why contingency fees put your lawyers firmly in your corner, and how to make the most of your free initial consultation.

Lawyer Fees Come in Different Forms

Depending on your legal needs, you may be charged differently by different attorneys. Generally, there are four primary fee structures different lawyers use, and some lawyers use a hybrid of two or more of these structures:

• Court Appointment. If you have a court-appointed lawyer (usually for criminal cases) you will often be required to pay the court a set, significantly reduced amount for your representation. The court is the one who pays the lawyer.
• Flat Fees. Many transactional lawyers (who prepare documents) will use a flat fee system. They will charge you up front for the full cost of doing the work. You don’t pay any more or less no matter how much time the attorney takes on your case.
• Hourly Fees. Litigation firms often charge their clients based on the hours spent on the case. This means the more work your lawyer does, the more expensive your attorney fees will be.
• Contingency Fees. Some personal injury firms, employment attorneys, and other consumer lawyers use a contingency fee, where the law firm gets a percentage of your earnings out of any settlement or court award. The amount you pay is based on how much you receive, not the amount of work done.

How Contingency Fees Work

Under a contingency fee agreement there are no up-front costs to hiring a lawyer. You won’t have to borrow money to pay a large retainer or agree to installment payments that could span years. Instead, payment is “contingent” on your recovery. In other words, your lawyer doesn’t get paid until you do. When you enter into a settlement or the judge or jury returns a verdict in your favor, your lawyer is entitled to a percent of that winning (usually between 33% and 40%, depending on the nature of the case).

Before you sign a contingency fee agreement, make sure you know what is included. On top of the attorney fees, you may also be responsible for costs related to the development of you case. This could include the fees paid to expert witnesses. These amounts will often be taken out of the final award as well. But unlike attorney fees, costs may be due whether you win or lose. Make sure you know ahead of time whether you will be paying costs along the way, or waiting until the end of the case. Then make plans accordingly to make sure all your witnesses get paid.

Why You Want a Contingency Fee Lawyer

At Eisenberg & Baum, LLP, we always use a contingency fee for any kind of employment discrimination case. We do this because we think it is fair. It puts us on the same side as our clients, and makes sure we do everything we can to get them an award they can live with.

Unlike flat fees or hourly fees, a contingency fee arrangement makes sure the work we do is focused on bringing you the best outcome in your employment discrimination lawsuit. We are not tempted to cut corners or do extra work to make the most of our fees. Instead, everything we do is designed to develop your case and get you the most for your claim.

Contingency fees also ensure that you get a fair assessment of your case from day one. A lawyer who only earns money from an award isn’t going to agree to work on a case he doesn’t think will win. That means a contingency fee lawyer is more likely to give you an honest assessment of what she thinks your case is worth.

How to Use Your Free Initial Consultation

Most people don’t think of an initial consultation as a two-way interview, but it is. Especially if your attorney works on a contingency basis, the first meeting is all about getting to know each other and the case at hand. Here are a few things you can do to help make the most of that interview:

Get Your Paperwork Together

No lawyer will expect you to know how much your case is worth going in. But the more information you bring with you to the initial consultation, the easier it will be for the attorney to put a value on your claim. You may want to bring with you:

• Wage and income information (like a pay stub or last year’s W-2)
• Medical bills (related to the harassment or discrimination)
• Letters regarding employment (like a termination letter)
• Papers demonstrating discrimination (like emails or text messages with derogatory language)

Be Ready with Questions

An initial consultation always involves a lot of questions by the lawyer. They are designed to get to the heart of your case and determine its strengths or weaknesses. But the attorney shouldn’t be the only one asking questions. This is also your first opportunity to understand the process, so come with questions prepared. How the attorney answers your inquiries will tell you a lot about your case, and the people working on it.

The initial consultation is also the best time to make sure you understand your contingency fee arrangement. Your lawyer should fully explain how your fees and costs are paid, and what happens if you win or lose.

Personality Counts

No one gets along with everyone. So during your initial consultation, take a look at the way your lawyer acts and responds. Is this someone you want to work with for months, or even years? Personality counts at the negotiation table and in the courtroom. So before you sign a retainer agreement, make sure your lawyer is someone you can listen to and respect.

Get On Board With an Employment Discrimination Attorney

Contingency fees may be a little confusing on first glance, but they are the best way to ensure you and your employment discrimination attorney are on the same team. At Eisenberg & Baum, we will take the time during your free initial consultation to make sure you understand how your fee agreement works and how your case will progress. We will take the time to answer all your questions. So don’t wait for the situation at work to get worse. Contact us to schedule a free initial consultation today, and find out what your case is worth.

When you are bullied at work it can make you and your coworkers miserable. It can feel like there is nowhere to go to help, or nothing you can do. You may feel like you have no option but to quit. The truth is that the solutions to bullying can be complex and depend on your individual employment situation.

In this blog post, I will explore internal options, federal agency complaints, and legal remedies you may have to address bullying. I will discuss how your union, employment contract, and internal policies may provide you a solution, even when a direct discrimination lawsuit doesn’t apply.

When is Workplace Behavior Bullying?

There is no federal legal definition of bullying. Under the New York City Human Rights Law, “cyberbullying” means “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices that is intended to frighten, harass, cause harm to, extort, or otherwise target another.” More generally, bullying is a power-based pattern of threatening, humiliating, or intimidating behavior designed to control the targeted employee. It may include:

• Insulting or humiliating remarks;
• Being shouted at or called out;
• Practical jokes;
• Exclusion or social isolation;
• Physical threats or intimidation;
• Micro-management;
• Setting unreasonable goals;
• Interfering with training or promotion;
• Cutting off responsibilities; or
• Violating a person’s space or personal belongings.

In the workplace, bully is most often done by people in leadership positions: bosses, supervisors, managers, or team leaders. While the majority of bullies are men, the number of women who bully is on the rise.

The Effect of Bullying at Work

No matter the form, bullying is abusive. It can cause serious health problems for targeted employees, including anxiety, headaches, and other stress symptoms. In the workplace, this can lead to absenteeism and loss of productivity on the job. If bullying goes unaddressed, many victims of bullying will contemplate leaving or find other work.

Is Bullying Illegal?

Bullying is not categorically illegal at the national level. There is no federal law prohibiting workplace bullying across the board. (However, cyberbullying and other forms of workplace harassment are prohibited under the New York City Human Rights Law.)

Even so, many times, the bullying that happens in a workplace will qualify as harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If the motive behind the bully’s behavior is discrimination against a protected class, the conduct may be illegal. Bullying won’t become illegal discrimination unless it is based on:

• Race or color;
• Religion;
• Sex or gender;
• National origin;
• Age;
• Disability;
• Retaliation for speaking out against any of the above.

Even then, the bullying must have resulted in an adverse employment action or be severe and frequent enough to create a hostile work environment before it violates the U.S. Civil Rights Act or other anti-discrimination statutes.

Do I Need to Quit to Escape the Bully?

If bullying is not illegal on the federal level, does that mean you need to quit to be free from harassment? Not necessarily. However, it does mean that many anti-bullying protections are voluntary and can change depending on your employer. Before hitting the job boards, make sure you look into all your options.

Human Resources

Most larger businesses have some form of internal complaint system through their human resources department. Many also have explicit anti-bullying policies that list particular behaviors that are off limits. Even medium-sized businesses may have a way to lodge complaints for the owner or manager to address. These internal personnel management tools are your first line of defense. Even if the bully is your direct supervisor, there will often be someone further up the hierarchy that you can ask to review the situation and stop the bullying behavior.

Union Protections

If your workplace has a union, you can often turn to your union representative for help stopping the bullying. Union contracts often have anti-bullying protections for their members. They also often have formal processes through which an employee can challenge the behavior of their superiors. Knowing the union policies and procedures is important because often, you won’t be able to take a case to court until you have done everything you can through the union.

Transfer Requests

Even if your employer has not taken any steps to protect employees against workplace bullying, there may still be something you can do before turning to lawyers and federal agencies: request a transfer. If the bully is your manager or team lead, ask to be assigned to another shift, team, or location with different leadership. Often, this is the easiest remedy because employees can find reasons to request a transfer that do not confront the bully directly, but simply escape the situation.

EEOC Harassment Complaints

If the bullying happening in your workplace is based on a protected class, you can turn to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for help. The employment discrimination attorneys at Eisenberg & Baum, LLP, can help you file and support a harassment complaint, and demonstrate that the bullying you have been exposed to is illegal under federal law. Talk to a lawyer to see if your situation meets the standard to file an EEOC complaint.

Employment Contracts, Policies, and Handbooks

Another route for relief may exist in the language of your employment contract itself. Your employer may have made promises to you about the terms of your employment in its policies, handbook, or training, that you can use to protect yourself. If your employer fails to live up to those promises by providing you a safe, harassment-free workplace, you may be able to take the company to court for breach of contract. An employment lawyer can help you review the contracts and file a lawsuit to protect you and your coworkers from a workplace bully.

Bullying at work can push you to your limit and make you want to quit. Before you give up on a job you used to love, make sure you have taken advantage of all the internal protections and external legal remedies available. Meet with the experienced employment discrimination attorneys at Eisenberg & Baum, LLP, to protect yourself and your job from becoming a victim of bullying. Contact us to schedule a consultation and find out what we can do to help.