Cases
Noteworthy Cases
Cancer Discrimination
The client was a salesperson for a tech firm. He came down with a form of cancer and had to take some time off because of the effects of the cancer and the effects of treatment once diagnosed. His employer refused to accommodate him and held him to the same sales goals he had been given when healthy. When he could not meet the sales goals because he was unable to work full time for a few months, the company fired him. The case settled for a mid six figure sum.
Physician Whistleblower
A very skilled doctor complained of patient endangerment due to a medical corporation insisting that patients with emergency conditions be taken out of the area of treatment when there was a capable treatment center nearby that was not part of the corporation. His complaint hit the newspapers and he was fired from his medical group. With a group of lawyers, part of the case went to trial, and part settled. Recovery was in the millions of dollars.
CEO Fired Without Cause
The Chief Executive Officer of a startup tech company had disagreements with the Board of Directors over the direction the company should take to expand its services. The Board fired the CEO. The CEO's contract provided that if he was fired for other than defined “cause” he would be compensated a certain amount, and if there was a disagreement it would be arbitrated. Paul Glusman tried the case before an arbitrator for a week and was successful in recovering nearly $400,000 for the CEO.
Change in Major Corporation's Policies
In one case a major national insurance company required all of its employees to sign a non-compete agreement – essentially preventing them from working in the same industry for several years if they were later fired. This is legal in many states, but not in California. Mr. Glusman wrote one letter to that company's lawyers and the company changed its policy – not only for Mr. Glusman's client – but for all California employees so that the non-compete agreement was not required. This, again was not a large fee case, but it was very gratifying in that it helped the client and numerous other employees.
Return to Work
Paul Glusman has handled a number of cases in which a letter or telephone call to the employer has resulted in an internal investigation that has returned the employee to work. These are not big-fee cases but are very satisfying in that the employee is put into a better situation than he or she left.
Race Discrimination
An African-American construction worker was fired after he complained of overt racial harassment by co-workers and a supervisor. Although he soon found work again with another company at the same union wage, we settled to case for a six figure amount.
Unpaid Commissions
A salesman was not paid commissions on sales made as per his contract. After lengthy and bitter litigation this case was settled for a mid six-figure amount.
Cancer Discrimination
Woman who worked for tech firm had breast cancer. It was necessary for her to undergo surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy over a period of months. She attempted to work through this as long as she could, then needed a leave of absence and was terminated. The case settled for a six-figure amount.