by Mark P. Carey | Feb 25, 2021 | confidentiality agreements, Employment At-Will, Forced Arbitration, Mark Carey, nondisclosure agreements, Podcast
In this episode of the Employee Survival Guide Mark confronts systemic barriers created by employers that promote inequality of gender, age, race, sex, sexual orientation etc. and protects bad actors and bad companies from public exposure of their illegal actions and public shaming. Mark examines the current social equality movement (#metoo and BLM) to find system barriers thrown in their faces of employees by the very employers who publicly denounce sexism and racism. Employers should be banned from using confidentiality agreements in employment discrimination settlements. We should ban the employment-at will rule because it only promotes biased discrimination in the workplace. And finally, every case should be made public instead of being forced into the black hole of arbitration. We need to know how our employers are treating our coworkers and ultimately ourselves.
If you enjoyed this episode of the Employee Survival Guide please like us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. We would really appreciate if you could leave a review of this podcast on your favorite podcast player such as Apple Podcasts.
For more information, please contact Carey & Associates, P.C. at 203-255-4150, www.capclaw.com or email at info@capclaw.com.
The content of this website is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice nor create an attorney-client relationship. Carey & Associates, P.C. makes no warranty, express or implied, regarding the accuracy of the information contained on this website or to any website to which it is linked to.
by Mark P. Carey | Feb 18, 2021 | confidentiality agreements, Mark Carey, nondisclosure agreements, Podcast
In this episode of the Employee Survival Guide, Mark explores the use of nondisclosure or confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements. In essence, employers seek to hide their bad acts behind confidentiality agreements and shield them from public disclosure. Mark explores a new California statute being proposed that will further provide transparency to unlawful employer conduct. Finally, Mark provides a solution to creating more equality in the work place by banning nondisclosure agreements and two other initiatives he has been raising for several years.
If you enjoyed this episode of the Employee Survival Guide please like us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. We would really appreciate if you could leave a review of this podcast on your favorite podcast player such as Apple Podcasts.
For more information, please contact Carey & Associates, P.C. at 203-255-4150, www.capclaw.com or email at info@capclaw.com.
The content of this website is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice nor create an attorney-client relationship. Carey & Associates, P.C. makes no warranty, express or implied, regarding the accuracy of the information contained on this website or to any website to which it is linked to.
by Mark P. Carey | Feb 8, 2021 | Age discrimination, Discrimination, Employment At-Will, Family Medical Leave Act, Independent Contractor, Mark Carey, Podcast, Pregnancy Discrimination, Sex and Gender Discrimination
In this episode, Mark shares a real life story of a woman who was loyal to the company and did everything they asked of her. We have modified the names and facts to conceal the identities and ensure confidentiality. Her boss was a billionaire but by his actions you would consider him a cheap capitalist. They refused to make her an employee with health benefits and she struggled for seven years as an independent contractor, working 60-70 hours per week, until the company finally made a her full time employee with health benefits. She had two pregnancies while working, and her employer forced her to work during her pregnancy leaves. Soon after, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and needed surgery and chemo therapy. She continued to work tirelessly even while on medical leave. Her cancer spread, she needed more surgery to remove her ovaries and more chemo therapy. She continued to work through her recovery. But then her employer forced her out on family medical leave without her consent, twice. The second time she was not allowed to return to work and forced into disability leave of absence. The company cut off her health insurance when they terminated her, just as she was to receive further cancer treatments. Her husband was also suffering from cancer and no access to health insurance. Mark provides commentary about the employer’s discriminatory and unlawful actions to get rid of this employee solely because she was a woman, over forty, and diagnosed with two forms of cancer.
If you enjoyed this episode of the Employee Survival Guide please like us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. We would really appreciate if you could leave a review of this podcast on your favorite podcast player such as Apple Podcasts.
For more information, please contact Carey & Associates, P.C. at 203-255-4150, www.capclaw.com or email at info@capclaw.com.
The content of this website is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice nor create an attorney-client relationship. Carey & Associates, P.C. makes no warranty, express or implied, regarding the accuracy of the information contained on this website or to any website to which it is linked to.
by Mark P. Carey | Jan 25, 2021 | Coronavirus, Covid-19, Mark Carey, Podcast
This episode explores the new controversy surrounding employer mandated Covid-19 vaccinations. Can employers do that? The simple answer is yes. The episode explores earlier governmental intrusion related to the smallpox epidemic of 1905 and then brings it forward to the current Covid-19 era. Mark explores your liberty interest to be free from governmental intrusion now being orchestrated through each individual’s employment.
If you enjoyed this episode of the Employee Survival Guide please like us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. We would really appreciate if you could leave a review of this podcast on your favorite podcast player such as Apple Podcasts.
For more information, please contact Carey & Associates, P.C. at 203-255-4150, www.capclaw.com or email at info@capclaw.com.
The content of this website is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice nor create an attorney-client relationship. Carey & Associates, P.C. makes no warranty, express or implied, regarding the accuracy of the information contained on this website or to any website to which it is linked to.
by Mark P. Carey | Jan 15, 2021 | Employment At-Will, Freedom of Speech, Mark Carey, Podcast
Podcast explores freedom of speech by political activists on January 6, 2021 when they stormed the Capital Building and their employer’s reaction – immediate termination of an at-will employee.
For more information, please contact Carey & Associates, P.C. at 203-255-4150, www.capclaw.com or email at info@capclaw.com.
The content of this website is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice nor create an attorney-client relationship. Carey & Associates, P.C. makes no warranty, express or implied, regarding the accuracy of the information contained on this website or to any website to which it is linked to.
by Mark P. Carey | Jan 15, 2021 | Mark Carey, Noncompetition & Nonsolication Agreements, Podcast, Severance, Severance Negotiations
1. THINK OF YOUR SEPARATION/SEVERANCE OFFER AS A NEGOTIATION.
2. REVIEW WHAT YOU ARE BEING OFFERED – USUALLY MONEY.
3. CONFIRM THAT YOU ARE BEING OFFERED EVERYTHING YOU ARE ENTITLED TO
4. ASK FOR A COPY OF YOUR PERSONNEL FILE – YOU ARE LEGALLY ENTITLED TO IT.
5. CONFIRM WHETHER YOU HAVE AN ERISA GROUP BENEFITS PLAN WHICH COULD INCLUDE SEVERANCE BENEFITS.
6. CONSIDER WHETHER YOU MIGHT HAVE ANY LEGAL CLAIMS AGAINST YOUR EMPLOYER.
7. REQUEST TO BE RELEASED FROM ANY NON-COMPETE, NON-SOLICIT, OR OTHER RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS (IF ANY APPLY TO YOU)
8. REVIEW NON-DISPARAGEMENT PROVISIONS AND ASK THAT THEY LIKEWISE PROTECT YOU.
9. CONTROL YOUR FUTURE REFERENCE.
10. ARBITRATION CLAUSES.
For more information, please contact Carey & Associates, P.C. at 203-255-4150, www.capclaw.com or email at info@capclaw.com.
The content of this website is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice nor create an attorney-client relationship. Carey & Associates, P.C. makes no warranty, express or implied, regarding the accuracy of the information contained on this website or to any website to which it is linked to.
by Mark P. Carey | Jan 4, 2021 | Performance Improvement Plan, Performance Review, Podcast
In this episode, Mark discusses five ways to beat your employer’s performance improvement plan (PIP) and enhance your chances of receiving a severance payout. These tips are groomed from twenty-four years of litigating PIPS.
by Mark P. Carey | Dec 23, 2020 | Mark Carey, Podcast, Religious Discrimination
by Mark P. Carey | Nov 9, 2020 | Mark Carey, Podcast, Workplace Bullying
According to the Workplace Bullying Institute (“WBI”) (https://workplacebullying.org/) nineteen percent (19%) of adult Americans experience workplace bullying. That means that some sixty point three (60.3) million workers are affected by this type of misconduct. Sixty-five percent (65%) of the people bullied at work are women and seventy percent (70%) of the perpetrators are men. Approximately sixty one percent (61%) of bullying is committed by a supervisor or boss. In 2019 a Monster.com survey revealed that nearly ninety-four percent (94%) of responding employees reported being bullied in the workplace. These statistics are shocking when one considers that there is no federal law and few state laws prohibiting or even acknowledging bullying in the American workplace.
A study by the WBI found that thirty-seven percent (37%) of bullying targets were terminated, while thirty-three percent (33%) quit their jobs and seventeen percent (17%) were transferred from their positions or departments. The bullies were punished only four percent (4%) of the time, and only transferred in nine percent (9%) of cases.
For more information about this topic, please contact our employment attorneys at Carey & Associates, PC at 203-255-4150 or email to info@capclaw.com. Thank you for listening.
by Mark P. Carey | Nov 9, 2020 | Disability Discrimination, Discrimination, Mark Carey, Podcast, Reasonable Accommodation
When it comes to the world of requests for disability accommodations under the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Rehabilitation Act, the “black box” or the “unseen internal mechanism,” is the ever elusive “interactive process”. This is the process of information gathering and discussion between the employee requesting the disability accommodation and the employer who is obligated to determine whether the accommodation requested will be granted. I analogize this process to a “black box” because it is inherently opaque. Why? While the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act require that both employers and employees engage in this interactive process, neither statute precisely defines what it is or when it starts or ends. It is not clear what precisely the employer must do in this process or what the employee can and should expect. How long should the process take? How does anyone know if they are doing it correctly? How do we know the proper accommodations were considered?
Now factor in the public health, work place safety, and personal medical complexities of the Covid-19 pandemic and the concomitant work-from home revolution and the box becomes even blacker. Do employers have to offer the same accommodations to teleworkers that they offered to workers when they were on site? Are accommodations automatically available for those with health conditions that put them at greater risk for Covid-19? If a disabled employee was able to do her job during temporary telework periods due to Covid-19, is she entitled to continue telework after the employer resumes regular operations? More importantly, what is the specific “interactive process” that will be used to decide these issues?
For more information about this topic, please contact our employment attorneys at Carey & Associates, PC at 203-255-4150 or email to info@capclaw.com. Thank you for listening.
