1 / 10

EPLI in the New Millennium: Current Trends and Emerging Issues

EPLI in the New Millennium: Current Trends and Emerging Issues. John L. Barber, Esq. Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP California/New York. AVERAGE JURY VERDICTS IN EMPLOYMENT CASES – CALIFORNIA. Breakdown by Nature of Claim. Observations:.

manju
Download Presentation

EPLI in the New Millennium: Current Trends and Emerging Issues

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. EPLI in the New Millennium:Current Trends and Emerging Issues John L. Barber, Esq. Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP California/New York

  2. AVERAGE JURY VERDICTS IN EMPLOYMENT CASES – CALIFORNIA

  3. Breakdown by Nature of Claim

  4. Observations: • Verdicts DO NOT reflect awards of attorneys' fees • Breakdown between demonstrating a DISCRIMINATORY ANIMUS versus SIMPLE ILL-INTENT or EMPLOYER NEG- LIGENCE (see discrimination verdicts and compare emotional- distress, fraud, and wage and hour cases) Bell v. Farmers verdict as harbinger of things to come Incomplete statistics

  5. Expansion of Protection • State versus Federal laws Examples: Sexual Orientation -- Protected Characteristic under the FEHA, growing protection under Title VII Transsexuals/Hermaphrodites (Perception of Gender/Sex versus reality) Disability in California versus ADA

  6. One of the Most Common Personal Injury Lawsuits Today • September 16, 2002 • 57 Lawsuits filed in the Central District of the Los Angeles Superior Court • 17 were employment-related = 30%

  7. Trends • Shifting of HR Function to Third Parties • Examples • Who is the insured? • Greatly increased number of employees moving through employer's facility • Contractual disputes between "insureds" interfere with resolution of cases • Pre-Issuance of PolicyDue Diligence • Examples • Questionnaire • Site Visit to Correct Deficiencies • Added Exclusions • Telecommuting • Examples • Wage and hour compliance • What laws apply • OSHA • Expanded base of potential plaintiffs and defendants Genetic Testing -- Protected Characteristic in California Growth of Poll of Attorneys

  8. Mediation • Early (often pre-litigation) Greater expense and preparation, i.e., attorneys' fees and mediator expense Multi-day What's covered, i.e., is it a claim?

  9. Increased Settlement Values -- The Hammer of Attorneys' Fees • 1998 Litton verdict -- $8,000 in compensatory damages; $300,000 in attorneys' fees • $0 to $25,000 settlements are increasingly rare • Plaintiff's bar perceives $25,000 to $75,000 as early, "cheap" settlement

  10. Legislative Activity • SB688 SB1538 HR 217

More Related