Devoted to Corporate Attorneys, Corporate Lawyers, and Corporate Counsel

Diana Maier of Bushnell, Caplan, Fielding & Maier, LLP spoke on Saturday, February 24, 2007 in San Francisco, CA on theories of recovery for plaintiffs who file suits based on employment law issues.

A theory for plaintiff recovery in employment lawsuits is the violation of public policy concept, where an employee is retaliated for blowing the whistle on an illegal act.  In this theory, there needs to be a tie to a statute or regulation.  For example, in Qui Tam suits, the person is given the right to bring a suit against the employer and is able to recover a portion of the damages for him/herself, along with a portion of the remedies going to the government.

Another theory is discrimination based on age or sex.  In age discrimination cases, the cases are more difficult for the plaintiff if the person who hired the individual is the same person who terminates the plaintiff.  An example of age discrimination is a Silicon Valley company that hired younger employees because it had a need to hire people who did not have a family life and were able to work long hours.  The environment of the company created an impact on the age pattern because older workers either left the company or were not hired.

Other types of suits include wage and hour class actions.  Wage and hour laws create strict liability if not followed.