Litigating Sexual Harassment and Sex Discrimination Cases

Description

Step-by-Step Guidance for Sexual Harassment Litigation

Sexual Harassment and Sex Discrimination continue to be ever evolving areas of the law. Not only have the techniques used by practitioners have changed, but the law itself and the theories of liability have been in considerable flux.

Sexual harassment litigation frequently combines high stakes with challenging facts. Settlements and awards can be large, but witnesses rarely exist, sensitive personal issues can surface, differing federal and state laws regularly overlap, and on-the-spot advice is frequently required. Careful and effective advocacy is essential to success.

Affordable help is available. Aaron Maduff’s Litigating Sexual Harassment & Sex Discrimination Cases leads you step-by-step through problem areas like these:

• Sidestepping statute of limitations traps
• Assessing client’s claims and injuries
• Avoiding removal to federal court
• Opposing summary judgment motions
• Deposing harassers
• Deposing and examining experts
• Proving “he-said, she-said” cases
• Admitting and excluding sensitive evidence

Litigating Sexual Harassment & Sex Discrimination Cases is loaded with useful forms, charts, and checklists that will save you drafting time and help you avoid costly mistakes. You receive sample pleadings, client intake checklists, deposition questions, workplace prevention policies, and much more.

Helpful Tips

• “A related and developing area of the law involves the employer’s liability for sexual favoritism. The EEOC Guidelines on this issue provide that.…”
• “Retaliatory acts by an employer’s management personnel can form the basis for a number of tort claims, e.g.…”
• To assess the reasonableness of your prospective client’s expectations, ask “If we can get your job back, with any back pay, and have the harasser fired or transferred, would that be enough for you?”
• “Be very cautious about cases where the client acknowledges participating in the very conduct of which she now complains. Derrico v. Pinkerton’s Inc., ….”
• “Consider drafting the complaint and sending it to the employer along with your letter and deadline date to be contacted. It will at least insure that the issue goes up a few notches in the hierarchy.”
• “If you plan to name any individual defendants in the civil complaint, you should also name those persons in the administrative charge. Failure to name a defendant in the administrative complaint may result in….”
• “Damages on a defamation claim may be based on elements other than injury to reputation, such as….”
• 3 reasons why you should consider stipulating to a Rule 35 examination.
• “Take precautions to insure that your client is not exposed to unreasonable intrusions into her or his privacy during a mental examination. For example, you may want to stipulate that your client will not be administered.…”
• “The MMPI , which is frequently given by psychologists, contains 566 true/false questions, many of which are objectionable as violative of your client’s right to privacy. See Soroka v. Dayton Hudson Corp. ….”
• 11 questions to ask every expert in a sexual harassment case.
• Remember when deciding whether to depose the examining doctor that the plaintiff waives any privilege she or he may have regarding the testimony of “every other person who has examined the [plaintiff] ….” FRCP 35(b)(2).
• 6 grounds for opposing motions for summary judgment, with supporting authority.
• 13 situations in sexual harassment cases when you should bring a motion in limine, with citations.

Gain complete control of your litigation work-up with Litigating Sexual Harassment & Sex Discrimination Cases’ one-stop task outline approach.

The book’s distinct format combines the benefits of an in-depth treatise—including over 600 pages of insightful practice tips, up-to-date citations, and helpful forms—with a step-by-step “how to do it” outline. Each task is set up in a recognizable 4-step format that clearly explains the “what, why, when, and how” of litigating sexual harassment and sex discrimination cases, making this the only resource you will need on the subject.

You also receive hundreds of tactical practice notes culled from the authors’ years of experience litigating employment cases. Let these insightful suggestions help you plan effective strategies and anticipate your opponent’s moves.

The net result of the book’s powerful new format is a user-friendly, practice-oriented resource that will guide you through the complexities of state and federal employment litigation.

REVISION 23 HIGHLIGHTS

This new edition of Litigating Sexual Harassment & Sex Discrimination Cases is packed with dozens of new case citations and practice tips throughout the book. The highlights include new and expanded coverage of: 

STATUTORY AND OTHER GROUNDS FOR LIABILITY  

• “Honest belief” rule as applied to employer’s explanation for adverse action
• Proving discrimination to a jury via mosaic method
• Proof of reasonable fear of retaliation to defeat employer’s affirmative defense

WORKPLACE INVESTIGATIONS

• Plaintiff’s failure to report harassment is not per se unreasonable
• Telling alleged harasser to “act professionally” is insufficient response to complaint of harassment

PLEADING

• Tip: Leave no room for “decision before the complaint” defense
• Proof of employer’s concerted effort to force plaintiff to quit may support Infliction of emotional distress claim
• Benefits of pleading both FMLA and Title VII violations in wrongful termination case
• When and how to meet test for piercing the corporate veil
• New Task: File Motion to Strike Affirmative Defenses

DISCOVERY

• Notice of Rule 30(b)(6) deposition:
  •  “including, but not limited to” language
  • “catch-all” topics, such as “all applicable policies and procedures”
  • material and decisions protected by work product doctrine
• When and how to suspend a deposition (short answer: as a last resort)
• One question always to ask comparator employee(s) at deposition

APPEALS

• Erroneous jury instructions
• Improper award of punitive damages

AND MORE!