Employment

Plaintiff, an ironworker at CONCO in Concord, injured his back and was available for modified work duty for a year and a half. Plaintiff claimed that no accommodation was made nor was the interactive process initiated. Plaintiff thought he was fired. CONCO gave him leave for disability which is an accommodation and moreover, no modified work was available as the construction industry was decimated during the pandemic.

Plaintiff, the CEO of a new therapy center for students with behavioral disabilities, brought the lawsuit for wrongful termination (age discrimination) and sought profit sharing and equity interests per an employment agreement. The CEO and the owner of the center had been friends for many years before the abrupt termination. Impediments were the emotions of the parties (anger and indignation) as well as some legal challenges of a non-licensed medical employee. The case settled at mediation before the upcoming binding arbitration with AAA. The mediatior's proposal was accepted by both parties within an hour.

Plaintiff brought a wrongful termination lawsuit claiming ADHD discrimination. The employer provided written documentation in the form of emails and text messages between the CEO, HR and supervisor over the course of a month discussing plaintiff's poor performance leading to the decision to terminate and ultimately, the termination with no prior notice of ADHD. One minute before the termination notice was given to the employee, the employee sent an inquiry to HR asking how to apply for a mental disability leave. Plaintiff claims that two months earlier, when he had a one on one meeting with his supervisor, he admitted that he had been unable to meet his goals because he was dealing with computer and phone issues, affecting his "mental health". His employer understood that to be similar to saying "I lost my mind" having to deal with all of the hassle. The mediation settled because the mediator invited plaintiff's counsel to meet with the CEO, and review the P & Ls showing dire financial condition of the company.

Settled dispute where female bartender alleges that the owner of the bar, assaulted her while at work, and owner claims self defense. There is a video that captured some of the assault, and plaintiff also alleges that owner called the female staff demeaning names.

Mediated a case of a plaintiff sexually harassed by two co-workers at a stone and tile showroom. The defense claimed that the co-workers were not her supervisors and plaintiff was in a consensual relationship with her co-workers. There were text messages and emails.

Mediated wrongful termination and retaliation of c-level employee who was one of the original starters of the non-profit start up and was due significant past wages.

Mediated case of employee at NPO whose CEO made unreasonable demands after plaintiff insisted that the letters to donors greatly overrepresented its staff size as well as the number of children served per year. The demands made the employee physically ill and she needed to work from home. Failure of the CEO to accommodate her disability led to retaliation and wrongful termination.

Mediated case involving for profit organization that put on concerts for charities. Its owner had to let everyone go when the pandemic started. There were three left: the Owner/CEO, the owner’s boyfriend, and the CFO. When the CEO let go the CFO, the CFO turned around and sued for past wages and wrongful termination. There were highly charged emotions since the plaintiff and defendant used to be close friends.

Mediated case in San Diego involving two female personal fitness trainers who sued the owners of a gym for sexual harassment and back wages. The owners were getting divorced and the deep pocket belonged to one of the owner’s relatives.

Mediated the case of a female low-level employee who claimed wrongful termination.

Handled case of female marketing director who was let go as part of a layoff while on her maternity leave.

Handled case of racial and gender discrimination against a strong black female employee at a driverless start up.

Handled case of a young employee of one of Elon Musk’s companies who was a whistleblower.

Handled case of a female scientific writer and sales team member who was terminated after 20 years at her company due to being one of the highest paid employees. The company claimed she did not meet the new sales quotas. She sued for age discrimination.

Handled the case of a female manager at a tech company who had a disability – ADHD - and was let go after some yelling and other incidents.