Racial discrimination in the workplace.
For many months, a 20-something-year-old Hispanic janitor was ridiculed daily by 40 and 50-year-old engineers, who were all White. “I bet you swam to this country. HA HA HA,” they said. “If you were driving through my Barrington neighborhood, the police would stop you. HA HA HA.” They posted a photograph of the plaintiff flailing in the middle of the ocean. They told him they got him a birthday gift: a pair of velvet dice they had hung from the rearview mirror in his car. Through a detailed and persuasively written settlement demand letter and mediation, Harrison Law Associates successfully negotiated a six-figure settlement for the Hispanic janitor within three months of meeting the client and without filing a lawsuit.
Unequal pay caused by Spanish language ability
An employer required all of its Spanish-speaking sales representatives to sell only to Spanish-speaking customers. This resulted in the Spanish-speaking reps working as hard but earning less than the English-only sales reps. Through litigation and mediation, Harrison Law Associates obtained the employer’s written promise to change the policies for Spanish reps and compensate Spanish-speaking representatives for past lost wages.
Color-blind severance policy.
Six employees were laid off by the same employer, at the same time. Each was offered what appeared to be a color-blind severance package consisting of one week of pay for each year of service, with a limit of 26 weeks. The only Black employee among the six was also the only one of the six with more than 26 years of service. Therefore, the Black employee was the only one of the six who would not receive a week of severance pay for every year of service. Harrison Law Associates found federal court case law that held that employers are not required to offer severance but, if they do, the severance cannot discriminate based on race or any other protected class.