Looking At Work Law and State Policy

Rick Grimaldi and Lori Armstrong Halber created an article entitled “Looking At Work Law and State Policy” for Region's Business.

We just completed a week long trial in which we represented an employer who had been sued by an employee for discrimination. It cost the employer a half a million dollars… and the employer won! Had they lost, the employer would have been responsible for paying the plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees as well. The plaintiff-employee will not, however, have to pay the employer’s.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, known simply as “Title VII,” was passed in the midst of the civil rights movement. The Act’s stated purpose is to “effectuate the congressional policy to eliminate employment discrimination directed toward any individual because of ‘race, color, religion, sex or national origin.’” 42 U.S.C. § 2000e. Other federal acts including the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act prohibit discrimination on the basis of age and disability, respectively. All federal anti-discrimination statutes provide for fee-shifting; that is, the successful plaintiff will be awarded attorneys’ fees in addition to other damages.

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