At Work: Solutions for Employers & Employees

"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in….”Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural address.

Sometimes litigation feels like war. The other party is your “adversary.” There are battles, there is strategy, questions of when and where to spend your resources. You hope for the quick win, but everyone knows that there is the possibility of a drawn-out internecine conflict.

For lawyers and litigants who really care about being principled, kind, and good people, conduct of litigation can bring a dilemma. How to engage in battle without losing what is most important in yourself?

Abraham Lincoln’s words are helpful. Even in the midst of a war that caused untold death and destruction, Lincoln counseled moving forward “with malice toward none; with charity for all.” But, he wasn’t taking a wimpy position by any means. In the same sentence, he urged his listeners not to give up the fight -- “with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in.”

And, so we litigate. Without malice, and without losing our sense of decency, we can still strive to prove our cases, to finish our work, and to work for the result we think is right. I’m going to try to litigate like Lincoln.

Happy President’s Day.

Posted by Tiffanie Benfer at 07:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What kind of legal advice did the Philadelphia Fire Department rely on when it instituted a policy of not hiring fire fighters over the age of 40? Seven applicants proved that they were highly qualified and could pass the physical test, but they were still turned down solely because of age. I’m gratified, but not surprised, that the Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission (PHRC) found last week that the policy violates the state prohibition of age discrimination.

Here's a link to the story in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/38741837.html

Continue reading "Age Discrimination in the Philadelphia Fire Department" »

Posted by Tiffanie Benfer at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Barack Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act yesterday. I've written about this legislation before, and won't repeat it today, except to say that this is a sign that the current Congress is willing to take action to protect employees' rights, and a sign that Congress is willing to overrule the Supreme Court when it will not fully implement Congressional intent.

Here is an excerpt from President Obama's remarks:

"Equal pay is by no means just a women's issue -- it's a family issue. It's about parents who find themselves with less money for tuition and child care; couples who wind up with less to retire on; households where one breadwinner is paid less than she deserves; that's the difference between affording the mortgage -- or not; between keeping the heat on, or paying the doctor bills -- or not. And in this economy, when so many folks are already working harder for less and struggling to get by, the last thing they can afford is losing part of each month's paycheck to simple and plain discrimination.

"So signing this bill today is to send a clear message: that making our economy work means making sure it works for everybody; that there are no second-class citizens in our workplaces; and that it's not just unfair and illegal, it's bad for business to pay somebody less because of their gender or their age or their race or their ethnicity, religion or disability; and that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory, or footnote in a casebook. It's about how our laws affect the daily lives and the daily realities of people: their ability to make a living and care for their families and achieve their goals.

"Ultimately, equal pay isn't just an economic issue for millions of Americans and their families, it's a question of who we are -- and whether we're truly living up to our fundamental ideals; whether we'll do our part, as generations before us, to ensure those words put on paper some 200 years ago really mean something -- to breathe new life into them with a more enlightened understanding that is appropriate for our time."

-- Pres. Barack H. Obama, in remarks at signing ceremony for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, Jan. 29, 2009

Posted by Tiffanie Benfer at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As someone who works daily on cases involving racial discrimination and other prejudices, I can’t let Martin Luther King Day pass without comment. But, anything I can say is inadequate, both to the memory of Martin Luther King and to the anticipation of our first African American President. Rather than waste time with my own words, I’ve given you a few of my favorite MLK “law, justice and employment” quotes.

“A right delayed is a right denied.”

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

“It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important.”

Continue reading "Martin Luther King Said It Better Than I Can" »

Posted by Tiffanie Benfer at 07:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you have time to escape to the movies this weekend, I recommend: “Milk.” Sean Penn was terrific. Do we think that Harvey Milk would be pleased with the progress we’ve made on civil rights protection for gays? Probably not.

Thirty years after Harvey Milk’s assassination, bigotry and discrimination against gays and lesbians remains socially acceptable in too many circles and legal in too many states.

Continue reading "We're Still Not There on Gay Rights" »

Posted by Tiffanie Benfer at 07:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By Tiffanie Benfer, Esq.

Alexander McPherson is a professor of molecular biology and biochemistry at UC Irvine. He was a recently stripped of his responsibilities and placed on unpaid leave because, as he described in his column “The Sham of Sex Harassment Training” Los Angeles Times, (11/28/08) “I have consistently refused, on principle, to participate in the sexual harassment training that the state and [his] employers seem to think is so important.
See http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-mcpherson21-2008nov21,0,4090949.story

Well, McPherson’s employer is not the only employer to realize that sexual harassment training is important. In fact most public and private sector employers provide sexual harassment training.

Continue reading "Professor Placed on Unpaid Leave for Refusing to Take Part in Sexual Harassment Training " »

Posted by Tiffanie Benfer at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Work is about a search for daily meaning as well as daily bread, for recognition as well as cash, for astonishment rather than topor; in short, for a sort of life rather than a Monday through Friday sort of dying."
-- Studs Turkel, 1912 - 2008

I’ve just heard that Studs Turkel passed away last night. What a loss!!

Maybe this isn’t exactly an employment law topic, but I think I can tie it in…. Studs Turkel wrote one of my favorite books, "Working." I read it back in college (long before I thought about being an employment lawyer), and it has stuck with me ever since. Studs Turkel’s talent was to talk to everyday people and find what was interesting in their lives. In "Working," he interviewed people of all professions, chambermaids and bankers, bus drivers, and maybe even a lawyer. (I don’t actually remember that one). I once heard Studs Turkel interviewed on NPR. He was asked whether he had to interview hundreds of people to come up with one of the interesting stories he told in "Working." He responded, “No, everyone has a story.”

Actually, I think that is why I love being an employment lawyer. Everyone does have a story. Each employee has a story, and each business does too. Employment law is very personal, and gives me a chance to hear the stories of others. Maybe I won’t ever write those stories quite like Studs Turkel, but this work does give me a chance to appreciate the stories and to incorporate them into the briefs I write.

Now, if you haven’t read it yet, go to the library and check out "Working." Some of the professions profiled might be a little dated. (The elevator operator in a department store comes to mind.) But the essential humanness of the stories is timeless.

Studs Turkel, your memory will live on.

Posted by Tiffanie Benfer at 08:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)