Legal Question in Employment Law in Massachusetts
Age discrimination allegations - Untrue, need help
My husband and I own a brand new small business (6 months old). We have received a letter of demand from a man we recently laid off. He alleges age discrimination, and unlawful termination. He was laid off due to financial cutbacks. We terminated 5 other people in the same week, and in the last month have had to close 2 out of 3 locations and terminate an additional 3 people.
We feel very stuck, like the only way to battle this is to settle even if he is so clearly wrong. He has not filed a complaint with the EEOC, but rather appears to be dead set on heading straight to court. We can't really afford to settle and we can't really afford a lawyer (we are still working our way out of those same financial difficulties).
Do we have any recourse? Is there any protection for small business against this sort of frivolous lawsuit? Are there lawyers out there that will help us out without charging us so much that we end up going out of business anyways? Can anybody out there help us?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Age discrimination allegations - Untrue, need help
Sounds like you had a bona fide business reason.
Terminating many folks, closing locations.
He would have a hard time making a case at the MCAD or EEOC, unless everyone you laid off was over 40.
Stop worrying and enjoy the summer.
Re: Age discrimination allegations - Untrue, need help
First, it is unclear whether he wrote the letter or an attorney. Plaintifff Attorney's like to collect money and therefor they are not going to spend a lot of time on a poor case with a defendant that may not be collectable.
Second, they cannot go straight to court. They will have to file a claim with the EEOC or MCAD and get what is called a right to sue letter. The agencies will investigate and based on your description unless you laid-off only people over 40 and kept only people under 40 you are not likely to have any problem showing you are not guilty of anything.
I would suggest you relax, but contact an attorney to assist you with a brief reply to the claim. You might also check with your business insurance and see if you have coverage for this, if so, they can deal with it for you.
Re: Age discrimination allegations - Untrue, need help
Hello. First, if I may, I think you need to step back and take a breath. Unfortunately, employee suits happen even to the best of companies and they are, nowadays, part of the expense of doing business.
There are no special "resources" available to small businesses to help them defend in these actions, though there is a wide range in what an attorney will charge you to defend such an action. (Beware, though, there is also a wide range of talent out there.) In my practice, for example, I have been known to sometimes provide start-ups and new businesses with a discounted rate, with the understanding that, as the business grows, the rates will be adjusted accordingly. I certainly know that there are other good and creative lawyers out there who do the same.
As an FYI, the employee will not be able to "head straight to court" without at least making an initial filing with the EEOC or MCAD (it's a prerequisite).
Getting down to the details of things, it is hard to give you any specifics about how to proceed given that your posting does not include most of the details necessary to assess how complicated this claim may or may not be. Feel free to send me an email if you would like to talk about this in some more detail.
Good luck.
Evan
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