Resources

If you are thinking about going to trial call Yates & Mancini, experienced litigators in Fort Pierce, Florida at 772-465-7990.

The Litigation Process and What it Means    Download PDF
Have you ever been in a dispute with someone and thought about going to court to
resolve the issue? If so, the process in which you will possibly get involved in is called
litigation. In most situations, one party will make a more or less informal demand of the
other, who will then send a response. This may lead to informal discussions with or
without an attorney. A lawyer can help you assess whether what you are requesting or
offering is realistic, and help you avoid making admissions that can hurt you if you can't
agree on terms.

If the issues can't be worked out, then one party usually has an attorney send a lawyer's letter. Having an attorney send a letter is a good way to get your issue to the forefront. It lets the other party know that you are serious about getting some type of resolution to the problem. Before a formal suit is filed there may be an informal pre-litigation settlement discussion involving the parties and their lawyers. Sometimes all it takes is a letter and phone call to straighten things out, particularly if the other side sees that you are serious.

If the issues can't be resolved in an informal format, then formal action may be started,
either by filing suit or a demand for arbitration. At the point, the formal litigation has
started. There are strict time limits requiring that actions be taken within a set time frame or your right to sue may be barred by the "statute of limitations".

Once you have served the opposing party with the lawsuit, then they must formally
answer your claim within a prescribed time frame or default and lose the case.

Litigation may involve pre-trial discovery in which one or both parties attempt to get
evidence as to what happened, perhaps by taking the testimony of witnesses, or
examining documents or physical evidence.

In litigation, either side may make motions to try to narrow the issues, or compel the
other side to do something, or even to have the court or arbitrator decide the matter
without the need for a trial. Before a trial the court may order a pre-trial conference to
narrow issues down still further, and perhaps to get the parties to agree to a settlement. If a suit is filed, the judge will usually order the parties to mediate, meaning to negotiate with the assistance of a trained mediator.

If no settlement can be reached outside the courtroom, then the case will go to trial to be heard by either by a judge alone or with a jury to decide the facts and the judge to decide the law. In arbitration the trial is called a hearing.

After the trial the court will enter judgment. An example is: "The plaintiff is entitled to
recover $10,000." In an arbitration the arbitrator will issue an award and the victorious
party will go to court for confirmation of the award.

There may be post-trial motions in which the losing party tries to convince the original
judge that something else is appropriate, perhaps more money, added relief, or a new
trial. After that, there may be an appeal by the losing party to a higher court. An
arbitration award is much more difficult to appeal than a court's decision.

The victorious party may have received a judgment stating what he or she is entitled to
recover. Then it is his or her job to collect the judgment. Collecting judgments can be
difficult, especially if the defendant's assets are not easily located, or exempt from claims of creditors.

If you are successful in collecting everything that is due to you, then the judgment is said to have been satisfied. Until satisfaction, the judgment remains outstanding and
unsatisfied.

Satisfaction of a money judgment occurs when the judgment debtor pays money to the
judgment creditor. The satisfaction may be partial or the satisfaction may be in full. In the event of satisfaction, it is typically (under state law) the responsibility of the judgment creditor to file a declaration with the court and send a conformed copy (date stamped by the court) of this declaration to the judgment creditor that either partial or full satisfaction of the judgment has been made by the judgment debtor. Credit reports on judgment debtors issued by credit reporting agencies should reflect all partial and full satisfactions of judgments.

If you are considering bringing a civil lawsuit or are being sued, call Yates & Mancini, experienced litigators in
Fort Pierce, Florida at 772-465-7990.

Employment Law/Employment Discrimination Facts     Download PDF
IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against
individuals because of their religion in hiring, firing, and other terms and conditions of
employment. The Act also requires employers to reasonably accommodate the religious
practices of an employee or prospective employee, unless to do so would create an undue hardship upon the employer. Flexible scheduling, voluntary substitutions or swaps, job reassignments and lateral transfers are examples of accommodating an employee's religious beliefs.

Employers cannot schedule examinations or other selection activities in conflict with a
current or prospective employee's religious need, inquire about an applicant's future
availability at certain times, maintain a restrictive dress code, or refuse to allow
observance of a Sabbath or religious holiday, unless the employer can provide that not
doing so would cause an undue hardship.

An employer can claim undue hardship when accommodating an employee's religious
practices if allowing such practices requires more than ordinary administrative costs.
Undue hardship also may be shown if changing a bona fide seniority system to
accommodate an employee's religious practices would deny another employee the job or shift preference guaranteed by the seniority system.

An employee whose religious practices prohibit payment of union dues to a labor
organization cannot be required to pay the dues, but may pay an equal sum to a charitable organization.

IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT COLOR AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects individuals against employment
discrimination on the basis of national origin as well as race, color, religion and sex.
It is unlawful to discriminate against any employee or applicant because of the
individual's national origin. No one can be denied equal employment opportunity because of birthplace, ancestry, culture, or linguistic characteristics common to a specific ethnic
group. Equal employment opportunity cannot be denied because of marriage or
association with persons of a national origin group; membership or association with
specific ethnic promotion groups; attendance or participation in schools, churches,
temples or mosques generally associated with a national origin group; or a surname
associated with a national origin group.

Equal employment opportunity cannot be denied because of marriage to or association
with an individual of a different race; membership in or association with ethnic based
organizations or groups; or attendance or participation in schools or places of worship
generally associated with certain minority groups.

Discrimination on the basis of an immutable characteristic associated with race, such as
skin color, hair texture, or certain facial features violates Title VII, even though not all
members of the race share the same characteristic.

Harassment on the basis of race and/or color violates Title VII. Ethnic slurs, racial
"jokes", offensive or derogatory comments, or other verbal or physical conduct based on an individual's race/color constitutes unlawful harassment if the conduct creates an
intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment, or interferes with the individual's
work performance.

Title VII is violated where minority employees are segregated by physically isolating
them from other employees or from customer contact.
Title VII also prohibits assigning primarily minorities to predominantly minority
establishments or geographic areas.

It is also illegal to exclude minorities from certain positions or to group or categorize
employees or jobs so that minorities generally hold certain jobs.

IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT PREGNANCY DISCRIMINATION
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act is an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964. Discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical
conditions must be treated in the same manner as other applicants or employees with
similar abilities or limitations.

An employer cannot refuse to hire a woman because of a pregnancy related condition as long as she is able to perform the major functions of her job. An employer cannot refuse to hire her because of its prejudices against pregnant workers or the prejudices of co-workers, clients or customers.

An employer may not single out pregnancy related conditions for special procedures to
determine an employee's ability to work. However, an employer may use any
procedure used to screen other employees' ability to work. For example, if an employer
requires employees to submit a doctor's statement concerning their inability to work
before granting leave or paying sick benefits, the employer may require employees
affected by pregnancy related conditions to submit to such statements.

If an employee is temporarily unable to perform her job due to pregnancy, the employer
must treat her the same as any other temporarily disabled employee; for example, by
providing modified tasks, alternative assignments, disability leave or leave without pay.
Pregnant employees must be permitted to work as long as they are able to perform their
jobs. If an employee has been absent from work as a result of pregnancy related condition and recovers, her employer may not require her to remain on leave until the baby's birth.

An employer may not have a rule which prohibits an employee from returning to work
for a predetermined length of time after childbirth.

Employers must hold open a job for a pregnancy related absences the same length of time jobs are held open for employees on sick or disability leave.

Any health insurance provided by an employer must cover expenses for pregnancy
related conditions on the same basis as costs for other medical conditions. Health
insurance for expenses arising from abortion is not required, except where the life of the mother is endangered.

Pregnancy related expenses should be reimbursed exactly as those incurred for other
medical conditions, whether payment is on a fixed basis or a percentage of reasonable
and customary charge basis.

The amounts payable by the insurance provided can be limited only to the same extent as costs for other conditions. No additional, increased or larger deductible can be imposed.

If a health insurance plan excludes benefit payments for pre-existing conditions when the insured's coverage becomes effective, benefits can be denied for medical costs arising from an existing pregnancy.

Employers must provide the same level of health benefits for the spouse of male employees as they do for the spouse of female employees.

Pregnancy related benefits can't be limited to married employees.

If an employer provides any benefits to workers on leave, the employer must provide the same benefits for those on leave for pregnancy related conditions.

Employees with pregnancy related disabilities must be treated the same as other
temporarily disabled employees for accrual and crediting of seniority, vacation
calculation, pay increase and temporary disability benefits.

IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT NATIONAL ORIGIN DISCRIMINATION
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects individuals against employment
discrimination on the basis of national origin as well as race, color, religion and sex.
It is unlawful to discriminate against any employee or applicant because of the
individual's national origin. No one can be denied equal employment opportunity because
of birthplace, ancestry, culture, or linguistic characteristics common to a specific ethnic
group. Equal employment opportunity cannot be denied because of marriage or
association with persons of a national origin group; membership or association with
specific ethnic promotion groups; attendance or participation in schools, churches,
temples or mosques generally associated with a national origin group; or a surname
associated with a national origin group.

A rule requiring employees to speak only English at all times on the job may violate Title
VII, unless an employer shows it is necessary for conducting business. If an employer
believes the English-only rule is critical for business purposes, employees have to be told
when they must speak English and the consequences for violating the rule. Any negative employment decision based on breaking the English-only rule will be considered
evidence of discrimination if the employer did not tell employees of the rule.
Harassment on the basis of national origin is a violation of Title VII. An ethnic slur or
other verbal or physical conduct because of an individual's nationality constitutes
harassment if they create an intimidating hostile or offensive working environment,
unreasonably interfere with work performance or negatively affect an individual's
employment opportunities.

Employers have a responsibility to maintain a workplace free of national origin
harassment. Employers may be responsible for any on-the-job harassment by their agents and supervisory employees, regardless of whether the acts were authorized or specifically forbidden by the employer. Under certain circumstances, an employer may be responsible for the acts of non-employees who harass their employees at work.

IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT AGE DISCRIMINATION
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) makes it unlawful to
include age preferences, limitations, or specifications in job notices or advertisements.

As a narrow exception to that general rule, a job notice or advertisement may specify an age limit in the rare circumstances where age is shown to be a "bona fide occupational qualification" (BFOQ) reasonably necessary to the essence of the business.

The ADEA applies to employers with 20 or more employees, including state and local
governments. It also applies to employment agencies and to labor organizations, as well
as to the federal government.

The ADEA does not specifically prohibit an employer from asking an applicant's age or
date of birth. However, because such inquiries may deter older workers from applying for employment or may otherwise indicate possible intent to discriminate based on age,
requests for age information will be closely scrutinized to make sure that the inquiry was
made for a lawful purpose, rather than for a purpose prohibited by the ADEA.

The Older Workers Benefits Protection Act of 1990 (OWBPA) amended the ADEA to
specifically prohibit employers from denying benefits to older employees. An employer
may reduce benefits based on age only if the cost of providing the reduced benefits to
older workers is the same as the cost of providing benefits to younger workers.

At an employer's request, an individual may agree to waive his/her rights or claims under the ADEA. However, the ADEA, as amended by OWBPA, sets out specific minimum standards that must be met in order for a waiver to be considered knowing and voluntary and, therefore, valid.