S1: The statements expressed in the following program are those of
S1: the speaker. They do not necessarily represent the views and
S1: opinions of the sponsor, the host and Olas media.
S2: Olas Media.
S1: This is overdue overtime presented by Sommer Schwartz. And now
S1: here's your host, Justin Isaac.
S3: Welcome to Overdue Overtime presented by Sommers Schwartz My name
S3: is Justin Isaac, attorney at Law, and I will be
S3: taking you on a very interesting ride today where we
S3: are talking about a day in the life of someone
S3: who is suing their boss, suing their company. So I
S3: am also joined by Jason Thompson. Jason, thank you very much.
S3: This is our second episode together and we had a
S3: lot of good information in that first episode. I'm really
S3: excited about this one as well.
S4: Good to be here, Justin. I'm looking forward to it
S4: as well.
S3: So you know what? Let's get right into it. A
S3: day in the life of a plaintiff. This is something
S3: that a lot of people don't really think about this
S3: when we think about suing our boss, when we think
S3: about suing our company, when they've done something wrong. There
S3: is so much of a process that comes along with
S3: this that a lot of people don't take into consideration.
S3: And we're going to kind of go through the details
S3: because it might not be for everyone, but it actually
S3: seems like it's a little bit more straightforward than a
S3: lot of people would think. Is that correct?
S4: It certainly is from the lawyer's standpoint. You know, the
S4: the work that we do is is repetitious from that perspective.
S4: It is very straightforward. We're also very familiar with the law.
S4: We're very familiar with the obligations. We're very familiar with
S4: the process. But, you know, ideally, people don't want to
S4: get in multiple lawsuits against their employer or their bosses.
S4: So for a lot of our clients, you know, this
S4: is a very unsettling experience. You're talking about a controversial
S4: dispute with one of the most important people in their lives,
S4: their employer, somebody who's who's responsible financially for for for
S4: their mortgage, their children, all of their bills. Most people
S4: live paycheck to paycheck, as we hear on the news.
S4: And it's astounding how how much control and influence our
S4: employers have over us because of that space they occupy.
S3: So I believe I know the answer to this question, too,
S3: but I'm sure a lot of people are wondering, are
S3: there safeguards in place if you if you have someone
S3: who comes to you and is potentially going to sue
S3: their boss, they're protected, right. They're not there's not going
S3: to be retribution. I know it's usually a private matter,
S3: but I'm sure there's a lot of people thinking like,
S3: I don't want to do that because I don't want
S3: to get fired.
S4: You know, the podcast that we're putting together, we're going
S4: to spend a whole segment on what it's like to
S4: consider suing your employer, you know, the very topic that
S4: you're talking about. And one of the considerations is the
S4: protection that comes with the Fair Labor Standards Act. Several
S4: other civil rights type statutes, whistleblower statutes, carry the same provision,
S4: and it's an anti retaliation provision which essentially says if
S4: somebody comes forward and exercises their rights under the law,
S4: the employer cannot take a retaliatory action like demotion, making
S4: their job harder and certainly termination as a response to that.
S4: And if they do, that's a whole separate violation of
S4: the statute and gives rise to a whole second cause
S4: of action for additional damages.
S3: Yeah, that's what I think a lot of people are
S3: concerned about who just don't know the law. There are
S3: safeguards in place to protect you for things like this.
S3: If there's a violation and your employer retaliates, that could
S3: mean some big, big damages. And it's definitely not something
S3: that they are going to want to do if that
S3: were to be the case. So let's get right into it.
S3: I guess let's talk about this. Where do we start?
S3: How does this start off and are we starting at
S3: the deposition phase or we what can it prep goes
S3: into a deposition before you are sitting down with someone
S3: who has the rights violated.
S4: Yeah. So today what we're going to talk about is
S4: the point in the process where the worker has already
S4: consulted with their lawyer. They've already made the decision that
S4: they have a good case and that they want to
S4: go forward with the case. The lawsuit's already been filed
S4: and a lot of the preliminary work has already been done.
S4: The important step that we're going to focus on today
S4: is called a deposition, and that's a process whereby the
S4: lawyer representing the employer gets basically a full day, up
S4: to seven hours of questions and questioning of the plaintiff.
S4: So that's what we're going to jump into today is
S4: the point in the process where the deposition has been
S4: scheduled and the lawyer and the client start preparing for
S4: that big event.
S3: Okay. So let's let's start off with that. What goes
S3: into the deposition? What are the things that you're looking for?
S3: What kind of things are you trying to prep for?
S3: Are you meeting with your client or is it just
S3: something that the attorneys are working on? How does that
S3: how does that work?
S4: Great question. So in almost every case, we will have
S4: this event come up, and that's standard for these types
S4: of lawsuits. The deposition, like I mentioned a moment ago,
S4: is really a question and answer session. What's strange about
S4: it is and part of the preparation for our clients
S4: is we have to convince them that it's not literally
S4: a conversation. You and I are having a conversation right now.
S4: We can speak freely. We can exchange ideas. It's an
S4: organic process. The conversation can meander left and right. That's
S4: a disaster for a deposition on a lawsuit from a
S4: from a lawyer's perspective. So part of what we're going
S4: to be doing in the preparation with our clients is
S4: reorienting them to what's actually happening. And that is much
S4: more like being interviewed by a detective. You know, if
S4: you ever watched detective shows or police shows, the detective
S4: already knows basically all of the answers to all of
S4: the questions he's asking the suspect. And what what they're
S4: really doing is determining if the suspect is a liar.
S4: And if they are a liar, they probably have something
S4: to hide. The defense lawyer does a lot of that
S4: same tactics in a deposition. They basically have your full
S4: employment file. They know every day you've worked. They know
S4: every day you've been absent. They know what your reviews are.
S4: They know your rate of pay. They know how many
S4: days you've worked overtime. Yet they'll ask all these questions
S4: of the plaintiff, for example, how many days did you
S4: work overtime? So what they're really doing is kind of
S4: trying to prod and probe and find out where there
S4: might be some confusion, some ambiguity, all in an effort
S4: to have the plaintiff appear weak, appear unorganized, appear unbelievable,
S4: because at the end of this process, if there's not
S4: a settlement and we're going to talk about that in
S4: a podcast, well, there's going to be a trial. And
S4: trials involve assessing credibility and believability. So, again, part of
S4: the preparation is we have to explain to our clients
S4: that this is not a conversation, even though it feels
S4: like it. And you have to you have you have
S4: to understand that when you're being asked questions, you have
S4: to listen very carefully. You have to answer just the
S4: question that's being asked. And so in order to be
S4: able to actually have a a client do that and
S4: do that comfortably, there's probably 2 to 4 hours of
S4: preparation minimum before we go into the deposition. And we
S4: work with them on all of the key issues that
S4: we can anticipate. We practice question and answer sessions with them,
S4: and we make sure that they feel comfortable that, you know,
S4: when they go home tonight, they're going to get as
S4: good a night's sleep as they can, and the next
S4: day they're going to do fine.
S3: You know, it's interesting because this is not the type
S3: of field of law that I practice. I don't do
S3: active litigation. And so I'm learning a lot as we go.
S3: But I'm sure a lot of people who are listening
S3: are also learning because this is not something you hear
S3: every day of how the ins and outs of actual
S3: lawsuits work. And if I think that I'm going to
S3: sue my boss, the last thing I'm going to think
S3: about is deposition prep. And you said 2 to 4
S3: hours of deposition prep. I imagine it's really hard for
S3: some people to wrap their heads around how careful they
S3: have to be when they say something. Correct.
S4: It's kind of like for the men, you know, we say, listen,
S4: imagine you came home late and your wife is looking
S4: at you with that eye and she's about to start
S4: asking you questions. Okay. That's the feeling you want. You know,
S4: when you were a little a little child and you
S4: came home an hour and a half late and there
S4: was mom at the doorstep, you know, there's an old
S4: saying in litigation that mothers make the best cross examiners
S4: in the world because they're just natural at it. That's
S4: what they do for for 18 years while they raised
S4: their children. And that's a good a good analogy. But,
S4: you know, other other clients are gung ho, You know,
S4: the motivation to come forward and actually take on your
S4: employer in a lawsuit comes from a lot of mistreatment.
S4: It's not the first card played for most people. And
S4: so they've got, you know, perhaps years of mistreatment built
S4: up and they finally can't take it anymore. And they
S4: give us a call. So sometimes we have to assess
S4: our clients and realize that they're a little bit fired
S4: up and and maybe we need to calm them down.
S4: Other clients are just short of terrified, and sometimes those
S4: people need a whole different hand-holding kind of process.
S3: Yeah, and that definitely makes sense having your your kind
S3: of overzealous client who really wants to get back at
S3: their employer. And then the the kind of nervous a
S3: lot of people are not great with just speaking in
S3: uncomfortable situations so they kind of shut down and that
S3: would make for a pretty difficult deposition, I imagine. So
S3: we need to make sure that they're staying focused, right,
S3: that they're meeting the objectives. And I don't know if
S3: we have time to talk about. But can we talk
S3: a little bit about how it works in the deposition?
S3: Are you there? Are you asking questions of anyone else
S3: or is it just your client being deposed? Are you
S3: able to challenge certain things? How does that work? Yeah, that's.
S4: A that's a great question. And I'm always surprised that
S4: some of my clients don't assume that I'm going to
S4: be there with them and that they're going to be
S4: all alone with some lawyer in a room answering questions. But,
S4: you know, they do. It comes up at least once
S4: a year. So yeah, the way the process works is
S4: the defense lawyer and myself will pick a day. We
S4: work with the client to make sure that they're available. If,
S4: for example, they're still working for the employer, you know,
S4: the employer needs to give them the day off. If
S4: they're an ex employee, we need to make sure that
S4: their current employer can give them the day off. So
S4: everything's scheduled in advance. That's why we have time to prepare.
S4: Everybody's schedule is is packed these days. So it's usually
S4: set out anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks in advance.
S4: We'll do the preparation leading up to that and then
S4: the deposition will start with at least three, if not
S4: four people in the room. They'll be the client, myself
S4: and the defense lawyer. And then there'll be somebody called
S4: the court reporter who is actually transcribing everything that's said.
S4: Sometimes in today's day and age, we use videographers which
S4: are essentially doing the same thing. There may be a
S4: couple additional lawyers helping out. At times it can get
S4: a bit intimidating for the clients to be in a
S4: room with so many people and they're the focus of
S4: the attention. They don't usually, you know, spend that that
S4: that time or occupy that position. And then the questioning begins.
S4: You know, there's generally kind of three areas the questioning
S4: falls into. There's personal background, employment, background, all the stuff
S4: that kind of led up to the event that's at issue.
S4: The second area really has to do with the problem
S4: that we've alleged. If it's working off the clock, if
S4: it's not getting paid overtime, there'll be a whole series
S4: of questions. What did you do for your job? If
S4: your classification is an issue, whether you were an employer
S4: or an independent contractor, the whole second kind of group
S4: of questions about that. And then finally, it usually comes
S4: back to the damages. And and those those tend to
S4: be more record driven in terms of how much you
S4: were claiming to be underpaid and and whether there was
S4: overtime involved or meal breaks missed. Yeah, but those are
S4: kind of the three main areas. And you know we
S4: touched on it earlier each each one of these questions
S4: probably is something the defense lawyer already has the answer to.
S4: Lawyers are professional question asks, you know, you're a very
S4: good podcast host in part because you're a lawyer, you know,
S4: and you think through how words mean certain things. But
S4: as I learned in my life every day with my
S4: children and my wife, non lawyers, real people, they don't
S4: think that way. They talk and they talk and they talk.
S4: And it's much more of an organic flow event. And
S4: with clients, you can't do that. We typically have them
S4: try very hard to answer questions with a yes no
S4: or I don't know. I tell them those are the
S4: three answers I want to hear the most. You're not
S4: going to get away with that for the entire deposition.
S4: When the lawyer says, describe for me the process of
S4: opening the shop and punch it in. That's not a
S4: yes or no question. But the least we can do,
S4: the better the the less information we convey to that
S4: defense lawyer during the deposition, the better. So keeping it
S4: short and sweet is is is a lot of what
S4: we help our clients do. And then lastly, you know,
S4: there's there's a pace to the deposition. Seven hours is
S4: a long, long time to be focused and concentrating on anything.
S4: You know, we make sure during the deposition to generally
S4: take a break at about the 1.5 hour mark. In
S4: our experience, that typically is when people start to lose
S4: their focus. It's also well known to defense lawyers to
S4: be a very good time to start asking the really
S4: dangerous questions and see if they can get a slip
S4: from the plaintiff or an admission of some sort. So,
S4: you know, we also watch our pace. I'm always there
S4: watching my clients. Some are better than others that all
S4: of this stuff, some can manage the stress better than others.
S4: So sometimes if we need a break in a half hour,
S4: we'll take a break and a half hour. But that's
S4: all the kind of stuff that that we manage as
S4: as the attorneys representing the clients.
S3: It's so interesting to think about something like that because
S3: the psychology of fatigue really does really does come into play. Here.
S3: And just to recap. I'm speaking with Jason Thompson of
S3: Sommers Schwartz. And we are talking about a day in
S3: the life of a plaintiff. But the psychology of fatigue
S3: is very interesting. I read a stat somewhere that said
S3: people who are sentenced before noon in a courtroom usually
S3: have like a 20 or 30% higher, I guess, sentencing
S3: or longer sentence than someone who was sentenced afternoon because
S3: the judge has had their lunch. And and we really
S3: don't think about things like that. But it's really important
S3: because once you get to that hour and a half
S3: spot and people are starting to get tired, starting to
S3: get fatigued, they are more likely to answer incorrectly or
S3: maybe not adhere to what we're trying to do, which is,
S3: you know, keeping keeping the goals in sight, you know,
S3: and do all that prep might just go out the window.
S3: If someone is speaking for too long of a time
S3: period in depositions to me are fascinating. I'm sure some
S3: people have seen depositions of, you know, like Donald Trump
S3: back in the day on YouTube or like Lil Wayne
S3: or that Texas attorney. I don't know if you saw this, Jason,
S3: who they literally stopped the deposition to fight each other.
S3: They got in a fight in the room. But those
S3: those videos are just amazing because you would think that
S3: it it's a lot more straightforward, but it is grueling
S3: to go through, you know, a seven hour deposition. And
S3: I imagine it gets pretty hostile and kind of ugly
S3: at some points.
S4: You touched on so many, so many interesting aspects of
S4: the deposition. And it's you know, it's fascinating stuff for
S4: for me, it's one of the more entertaining and exciting
S4: events in the lawsuit, obviously. I also take a lot
S4: of depositions as an attorney. I don't just defend my
S4: client's deposition. And the type of things you just touched
S4: on are real. And it's the closest thing in the
S4: lawsuit to TV lawyering. You know, when we watch TV
S4: law shows, there's so much that is that is not
S4: common and not real. You know, first of all, a
S4: case doesn't wrap up in 30 minutes or an hour. Right.
S4: But the deposition of all the events is actually fairly
S4: well portrayed on what people see with the TV. There's theatrics,
S4: there's intimidation going on. You talked about hostility. You know,
S4: we we often have clients who are deathly afraid of
S4: one particular supervisor. You know, every office has that person. Right.
S4: And lo and behold, that person can come to the
S4: deposition and you say, well, how could that be? Well,
S4: under the court rules, each corporation can have a representative
S4: at the deposition. And that's in addition to the lawyer
S4: defending the company. And so guess what? The smart defense lawyers,
S4: they'll spend time with their their client and they'll find
S4: out who, you know, pushes the plaintiff's button or who
S4: has a particular history with them. And that person, lo
S4: and behold, will be designated. So here you are, 9 a.m.
S4: You show up at the deposition and the first thing
S4: the client gets is a big punch in the mouth,
S4: so to speak, by having to go sit across their
S4: archenemy at work. And, you know, so there's all kinds
S4: of games and stuff that gets played. I've seen them
S4: all The the Texas video you mentioned is hilarious. Absolutely hilarious.
S3: It is. It is definitely something that made the rounds
S3: for years and years. And that that attorney that was
S3: a part of it was very famous for it. Real quick,
S3: before we move on to the next section, I wanted
S3: to ask one quick question. If you are like say
S3: you're suing your employer or suing your boss and you
S3: have one particular person that you're alleging something against, you
S3: just mentioned a second ago that that person can be
S3: the designated representative. Can the plaintiff request that that person
S3: not be allowed to be the representative? What kind of
S3: rights do they have there for intimidation purposes?
S4: Yeah, that that is possible, but it would be an
S4: extremely high burden of proof and it would require a
S4: preliminary ruling from the judge. And it would it would require,
S4: you know, basically an oppression or some type of an
S4: abuse of process finding by the court. I've never had
S4: that happen before. I have had discussions with defense lawyers
S4: when I knew that that could be a possibility. And
S4: I've never had a defense lawyer push push the envelope,
S4: so to speak, if I've requested that such and such
S4: not be at the depth it's always been agreed to. And,
S4: you know, frankly, while we've talked about some theatrics and
S4: stuff that is kind of bush league and at the
S4: end of the day, most lawyers are professionals. Most lawyers
S4: take their job and their obligation to their clients serious.
S4: And if they if they are taking. In a deposition.
S4: They've got a full day planned. They've got a lot
S4: of work to get done. And so I've never had
S4: a lawyer, you know, throw all that out the window
S4: just for some cheap thrills and theatrics.
S3: Yeah, I think, as you mentioned earlier, the portrayal of
S3: how this all goes down, where you have one over-the-top
S3: great attorney who just says the right thing every single
S3: time and catches him in a lie. And then you
S3: have your kind of, you know, jerk attorney who downloaded
S3: their diploma off of Google and doesn't know what they're
S3: doing or is intentionally being, you know, difficult to deal
S3: with and whatnot. But okay, so well, that's depositions. That's
S3: really cleared up a lot of information. Where could we
S3: send people to go to learn more or to get
S3: more information about depositions?
S4: Well, I'm sure there's a bunch of videos that you
S4: mentioned on the Internet, what isn't available on the Internet,
S4: but they are pretty unique situations. And we spend a
S4: lot of time at Sommers Schwartz with our clients preparing them for
S4: the depositions. I know some lawyers at my firm have
S4: old VHS tapes going back in time that the they
S4: give their clients to watch at home before their prep session. And,
S4: you know, there is there is some examples of what
S4: an objection is, how to answer yes and no, how
S4: to how to avoid saying too much. What happens if
S4: there's a surprise? You know, for example, you can't just
S4: walk out of the deposition because a surprise popped up.
S4: You know, you actually have to finish it. Most most
S4: lawyers are very familiar with the rule that if I
S4: ask a question, we don't take a break and you
S4: don't consult with your lawyer until you answer the question.
S4: As soon as you do, we can take a break. So,
S4: you know, we we we do preparation for a reason.
S4: There's just a lot of of of surprises that can
S4: come up. And as they say, the antidote to all
S4: that is is preparation. I would say to there are
S4: a fair number of common misunderstandings that we we touched
S4: on already here today. But it's surprising how many people don't,
S4: you know, have a full grasp of of what's actually
S4: at stake in the deposition or what their role is.
S4: So I'll give you a couple examples. Sure. Some of
S4: our clients feel like this is the trial. They feel
S4: like they've got a win. This deposition. And I've always
S4: been surprised how many people feel that way. On hindsight,
S4: it makes sense. I mean, they are the focus of
S4: the attention it is feels like it's all about them.
S4: So we go through the whole process of the of
S4: the case for filing the lawsuit to the deposition and
S4: then ultimately the trial just to demonstrate to them that
S4: this is not trial. And the big message and kind
S4: of the big misunderstanding is you actually don't even need
S4: to win this. You're probably going to walk out of
S4: the deposition feeling like you lost. And a lot of
S4: our clients are very surprised when I say that. But
S4: once we go through the process and explain to them
S4: that it's not a conversation, you don't get to just
S4: say what you want, you have to wait and listen
S4: to the question being asked. Then they understand the power imbalance.
S4: The power is all on the side of the defense
S4: lawyer or the lawyer asking the questions in the deposition.
S4: It's a very lopsided and unfair situation and it's designed
S4: to be that way. So I assure my clients, look,
S4: there'll be depositions that I'll be taking of your supervisor
S4: or your coworkers, and they also are going to feel
S4: very unfairly treated. Those are lopsided depositions in our favor.
S4: So don't feel like you've got to win this case.
S4: In fact, if you get done and you feel like
S4: you kind of got beat up, that's normal.
S3: Yeah, that makes sense to I think that that's a
S3: very interesting thing. Do you have any any stories that
S3: you want to share with us about what's actually happened
S3: in a deposition? Anything, you know, any quick stories that
S3: something really crazy that people would want to hear?
S4: Well, you know, after 30 years of practicing law, I've
S4: probably sat through 500 or more depositions. We could have
S4: multiple podcasts. Luckily, I haven't had myself filmed like the
S4: Texas lawyer and getting into a fight, although I have
S4: sat at a deposition where that was threatened, really, you know,
S4: most most of the depositions, though, really are not all
S4: that terribly entertaining. They involve professional lawyers who are doing
S4: their job. These types of cases are not criminal cases.
S4: No one got murdered. These aren't divorce cases that can
S4: involve a lot of salacious experiences. At the end of
S4: the day, we're talking about something very important, which is
S4: being paid fairly and honest day's pay for a honest
S4: day's work. But it really does come down to a.
S4: Fairly straightforward questions and answers. It's it's it's nothing that
S4: would be concerned about if I was a worker. These
S4: are cases that really turn on very concrete facts and records.
S4: And there's nothing all that salacious or scary or dramatic
S4: that happens to our clients. And so consequently, I don't
S4: have a whole lot of great cocktail stories or war
S4: stories to be able to to to roll out here
S4: today on the podcast.
S3: Well, everyone can find that on on YouTube, I'm sure.
S3: But that's there's definitely some good information in what we
S3: just talked about, too. So I am speaking with Jason
S3: Thompson of Sommers Schwartz, and we're going to put the the
S3: website in the show notes, but the website your, your website,
S3: I believe is Sommer s pc That's s o mmers pc. Com.
S3: If you have a claim, if you feel like you
S3: need to sue your boss or your employer and you
S3: need more information, it's definitely time to reach out and
S3: and see if you have a viable case because as
S3: Jason was mentioning, there's a lot that's going to go
S3: into it and there's a lot of prep work and
S3: we don't want your rights to be violated. So, you know,
S3: after the deposition phase, what's next? What where do we
S3: go from there? It doesn't go straight to trial. Right?
S3: I'm and a lot of people think that everything goes
S3: to trial. And we talked about this on the last episode,
S3: I believe. But I think the stats are about 5%
S3: of cases go to trial. Everything else is resolved before trial.
S3: So we get the deposition done. We've done all the
S3: prep work, we've sat through the seven hours. What's the
S3: next step from there?
S4: Okay. So this podcast we're talking about kind of the
S4: day in the life of a plaintiff, and we started
S4: off with one of the most important events for the plaintiff,
S4: which is their deposition. And the next phase would be
S4: all of the depositions that I would be taking their
S4: coworkers and supervisors and people on the employment side. Typically
S4: our clients do not attend those with us. So one
S4: of the nice things probably to convey is the 2
S4: or 4 hours of prep for your deposition and your
S4: one day of deposition. That's about it. From this point forward,
S4: in terms of the client's involvement, in terms of disruption
S4: of their lives, in terms of having to relive this
S4: this event from this point forward. The lawyer, myself and
S4: my partners are the ones doing all the work. And
S4: we're finding out information by taking depositions ourselves. We might
S4: be working with experts who go through all the data
S4: and figure out if you had this amount of time
S4: what would happen to the ultimate payroll for the defendant.
S4: And then ultimately where you want to get to Justin
S4: is mediation. That's the next point in the timeline and
S4: the next event that I think would would be of
S4: interest for kind of this topic of a day in
S4: the life of the plaintiff.
S3: Yeah, So and mediation is very, very common. A lot
S3: of people don't know exactly how it works, what it means.
S3: They just know that, you know, one Soto with the
S3: Padres just went into mediation or arbitration and, you know,
S3: is mediation and arbitration synonymous? How how does that all work?
S3: And who sets up the mediation? What's the process there?
S4: Okay, so why don't we talk about a few legal terms.
S4: You mentioned trial. You just mentioned arbitration. And of course,
S4: we're going to talk about mediation for purposes of today.
S4: So in reverse order or trial is what you see
S4: on TV and in movie think everybody realizes that, you know,
S4: there's a jury or a judge who sits as the
S4: Trier fact. The judge oversees the the calling of witnesses
S4: and taking of evidence. And ultimately, you know, a jury
S4: is deliberates applies a lot of the fact and there's
S4: a guilty or innocent finding in a criminal case or
S4: a money damage award in a civil case. We're not
S4: talking about trial today. Arbitration, real quickly, is kind of
S4: a substitute for trial. Trials. Take a lot of time.
S4: They're extremely disruptive. They're expensive. And so arbitrations, you know,
S4: probably 30 years ago, right when I started practicing law
S4: started to become a a common substitute for trial. There's
S4: a whole nother podcast we're going to do about trial
S4: and arbitrations later. But arbitration is is where you have
S4: 1 or 3 typically either ex judges or lawyers, and
S4: they will decide the case. It's kind of a mini
S4: speedy trial. It can take a half a day or
S4: maybe a week. Typically they're done in a day, though,
S4: and and it's much less disruptive again. We're not doing
S4: arbitrations today. We're not talking about arbitrations today. So the
S4: third item and what we are going to talk about
S4: is mediation. And mediation is an effort to try to
S4: settle the case. It cannot be forced on anybody. It
S4: has to be voluntarily agreed to. And both sides typically
S4: discuss who will serve as the mediator. They'll discuss what
S4: claims are going to be on the table, maybe all,
S4: maybe some. And they'll set a date for the mediation
S4: and a location for the mediation. Small little change post-COVID.
S4: Is that a lot of mediations now take place by Zoom.
S4: So where we used to fly to distant cities that
S4: no longer is prevalent and a lot of these get
S4: done on Zoom. And so that's how mediation comes about.
S4: And it's a so basically it's a voluntary process. We
S4: can talk about all the process involved in that today,
S4: but it's a voluntary process with a third party who
S4: tries to facilitate a settlement. Last thing I'll say in
S4: this kind of definitional section is the mediator has zero
S4: authority to decide the case, whereas an arbitrator decides the
S4: case or an arbitration panel.
S3: So a couple of questions that come right off the
S3: bat before we get into how it all works. Is
S3: there an advantage to going to mediation from a plaintiff
S3: side or is it a disadvantage?
S4: Well, it's it's advantageous to both sides. So let's talk
S4: about it from both perspectives, the plaintiff and the employer.
S4: The advantage is it can reach a a settlement. Settlements
S4: are not where somebody wins and the other party loses.
S4: That's what trial is. And that's often what arbitration is.
S4: There's winners and losers. Settlements are in between. A good
S4: settlement probably is where both sides feel like they lost.
S4: You know, it's a compromise by nature, but everybody gets
S4: to go on with their lives. You know, a lawsuit
S4: is a terribly disruptive event for everybody. It's disruptive for
S4: both sides. And so one of the big advantages of
S4: mediation is it promotes settlement. You know, it is it
S4: is an opportunity for everybody to check that day off
S4: on their calendar, get prepared to address the case, come
S4: into the exercise with an open mind or as open
S4: mind as you can be, assisted by a third party
S4: who can help get past egos, frustrations, misunderstandings, maybe get
S4: past the lawyers who aren't helpful. You never know. And
S4: everybody really gets focused for the day. They're typically a
S4: day long event and gets focused on trying to get
S4: the parties to settle. It saves a lot of money
S4: in the end as well for both sides, mainly the
S4: defense and the lawyers getting paid by the defendant and
S4: the company. That saves them a lot of money. So
S4: there's a lot of advantages to the mediation and it
S4: really has become a common event in just about every
S4: single wage in our case that we file.
S3: So when you're choosing a mediator, I guess you said
S3: they both parties agreed to the mediator. What do you
S3: looking for? Do you have someone that you usually will
S3: go with? Are they national or are they state specific?
S3: How does that all work?
S4: Yes, to all the above. So it's it's a very
S4: unique experience. There's not a one size fits all. Typically,
S4: at Sommers Schwartz , we handle class action cases or collective
S4: action cases that involve many workers. You know, could be hundreds,
S4: tens of thousands. And so the defendants that we end
S4: up suing are typically nationwide, or at least involve several
S4: states worth of workers. So one of the criteria that
S4: we always insist on is that the mediator be well
S4: versed and he or she understands what it takes to
S4: get a class certified, because what happens is during the
S4: mediation process, each side will argue their strong points and
S4: why they should win and the job one of the
S4: jobs of the mediator is to push back. And so
S4: the mediator is not going to just listen to what
S4: I say in the mediation, but they're going to, along
S4: with my client, demonstrate how we could lose the case.
S4: And one of the big ways that we can lose
S4: the case is to not get a class certified. You know,
S4: we could talk about that in a whole nother podcast,
S4: but essentially you've got to convince the judge that there
S4: are many, many people who essentially have the same case
S4: based on the same facts, and we'll use the same evidence.
S4: And if you. And convince the judge of that, then
S4: the judge has the option of certifying that one person's
S4: lawsuit as what's called a class action. And that class
S4: action will then be binding on everybody who fits that
S4: same definition. So if they're all assistant managers, you know,
S4: at the Home Depot store or they're all factory workers
S4: at certain plant for Ford Motor Company, that's that's what
S4: we do. And so we always want a mediator who
S4: understands how a case gets certified and what those arguments
S4: involve so that the defendant, you know, doesn't get to
S4: run right on us and try to convince them that
S4: we're never going to get past that threshold. So that's
S4: that's one of the main criteria. The last criteria is,
S4: is again, kind of subjective, but you want to have
S4: somebody who's got a good understanding of human nature. They're
S4: not calling balls or strikes. They have no authority to
S4: decide the case. You know, they really have to deal
S4: with psychology. They have to be able to read a room.
S4: They have to be able to understand the pace of
S4: the day. And they're trying to cajole everybody into taking
S4: a step forward. You know, if I get this, will
S4: you take a step forward? And then they go the
S4: other room. You know, we're in separate rooms, by the way,
S4: during this whole process, you're not. Oh, really? One courtroom together? Yeah,
S4: you're always you're always in separate rooms. And the mediator
S4: does what's called shuttle diplomacy, or they go back and
S4: forth between the rooms. And so you want somebody who,
S4: you know, has either a lot of experience dealing with
S4: people or has a proven success rate in getting settlements.
S4: Sometimes those are ex judges. Sometimes they're just ex lawyers
S4: that were were successful in their practice and are now
S4: much more interested in working out settlements and are very
S4: good at working with people. There's there's two there's two
S4: different rooms, but there are endless numbers of personalities that
S4: can fill those rooms.
S3: Yeah, and that makes sense. Actually. I never thought about
S3: that because, you know, I think of the movie Wedding
S3: Crashers and Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are mediators, I guess,
S3: between two couples who are a couple who's getting divorced
S3: and they're arguing in person and it's highly emotional. But
S3: being in separate rooms, it makes a lot of sense.
S3: I guess you get your steps into which is is great,
S3: but I never really thought of it that way. And
S3: it does make more sense for everyone to be separate.
S3: But I imagine that there's going to be times where
S3: you spend time with this person. Then you take their
S3: kind of request demands, go to the other person and
S3: see if you can meet in the middle on like
S3: each individual issue. So that that makes a lot of
S3: sense when you when you really think about how it
S3: all works out. But just to recap to we are
S3: doing a day in the life of a plaintiff. We're
S3: covering a lot today. You can reach out to Sommers Schwartz
S3: directly Sommer spc.com sommers pc. Com that's going to be
S3: in the show notes and I'm joined by Jason Thompson
S3: once again My name is Justin Isaac and we are
S3: in the middle of talking about mediation and how that
S3: is different, how that is probably a very desirable thing
S3: to get to because what would you say percentage wise,
S3: how many mediations lead to actual settlements?
S4: Oh, the vast majority. You know, again, if you've if
S4: you've selected your case properly, which which we like to
S4: think we do, if you've properly worked up the case,
S4: meaning you've completed all the depositions that we talked about
S4: earlier and you've exchanged all the documents and you've consulted
S4: with your experts, your economists, and you have a good
S4: understanding of of what a trial would look like. And thirdly,
S4: you've selected a mediator who is skilled and he or
S4: she's experienced in all of the right areas. You know,
S4: the table's kind of set. Justin, for success. You know,
S4: it takes a dance partner, right? So, you know, on
S4: the plaintiff's side, you can't walk in and expect you're
S4: going to get 99% of your damages or 95%. You know,
S4: a case has defenses and there's there's always a chance
S4: you can lose. On the other hand, as an employer,
S4: you know, they can't walk in expecting to pay a
S4: dollar or $10. You know, they have to understand and
S4: be and be open to the concept that they could lose.
S4: If all those things come together, then then you should
S4: be able to settle the case. And I would say
S4: that we probably are successful in our mediations 90% of
S4: the time. Now that might seem kind of high, but
S4: that would account for cases that for whatever reason the
S4: judges have already kicked out and we've lost, um, that
S4: would account for cases that we might settle. For mediation.
S4: I mean, some are just easy cases and they just
S4: need to be kind of processed. So by the time
S4: you get those off of the table, I think we're
S4: probably close to about 90% success in our mediations.
S3: Yeah, that's a I imagine that it's advantageous to everyone,
S3: you know, because lawyers are very expensive. We want to
S3: expedite the process. No one likes going through trial. It's stressful.
S3: It's terrible. And and mediation is ideal when you have
S3: a situation where you can kind of wrap things up
S3: pretty quickly. It sounds like, you know, in the negotiation
S3: process between the two rooms, it's probably a day like
S3: similar to a deposition where it's long and it's stressful.
S3: But if you both have both parties who are kind
S3: of like, all right, I can budge here and I
S3: can budge there, it almost feels like when you go
S3: to mediation, everything is common sense at that point, like,
S3: let's just get through this. Let's not be emotional. Let's,
S3: you know, resolve our issue and kind of go our
S3: separate ways. But do you have in the mediation, do
S3: you have your clients with you and do you do
S3: if they are with you, are they I'm assuming they're
S3: with you because you have to ask them if they're
S3: willing to concede on certain things. But it's not the
S3: same prep as a deposition because you're not in the
S3: same room.
S4: Yeah, it's it's it's always important for us to have
S4: our clients either with us physically or reachable by phone.
S4: Because what what typically happens is we get to the
S4: point where there's some type of a compromise to be made.
S4: You know, it could be that some of the claims
S4: are going to be dismissed and not paid. Others are
S4: going to be paid. You know, it could be that
S4: some states are going to get paid more because they
S4: have better laws than others. It could be that the
S4: time period shrinks, you know, instead of three years of wages,
S4: it's going to be a year and a half. These
S4: are all examples of compromise. And so when we're representing
S4: a group of workers, you know, a class and a
S4: class action, we don't just have one client to address.
S4: We don't just speak with one client or take direction
S4: from one client. Our responsibility is to the entirety of
S4: the class. So the client is there, either physically or
S4: at least by telephone, to serve a couple purposes. Number one,
S4: nobody knows the facts better than the actual client. They
S4: worked at the shop or in the industry. They understand
S4: who is on the other side of the case. They
S4: have the best factual experience available. And so they often
S4: help spot, you know, areas that perhaps the mediator isn't
S4: catching or, um, misstatements that the defendants have made that
S4: for some reason still haven't come up during the case.
S4: And so they're very helpful that way. The other way
S4: that they're helpful is they are kind of the sounding
S4: board for what's a fair compromise. You know, the law
S4: doesn't just let the lawyer settle these cases. If we
S4: get to the point where we think that's a fair
S4: compromise and that in our learned opinion, the settlement should
S4: go forward and should be reached, we express that to
S4: the clients, but ultimately they get a say and they
S4: get to say, you know what, this isn't fair. This
S4: isn't enough. Maybe we don't settle that day. Maybe the
S4: mediation goes on to another day. But ultimately, the judge
S4: is going to want to know from both of us,
S4: from the lawyer, the class action lawyer, which is me
S4: and from the class representative, the plaintiff, what their view is.
S4: And then ultimately he or she, the judge has the
S4: final say on whether or not that settlement is going
S4: to be approved. They all need to have court approval. So,
S4: you know, we need to be able to tell the
S4: judge at the end of the process that the client
S4: was involved, how they were involved. The client usually fills
S4: out a declaration, a written set of statements as to
S4: as to what they did as the representative, that they
S4: oversaw the case. They monitored the case. They were kept
S4: advised of the of the progress. They had their questions answered,
S4: whether they attended deposition, whether they attended the mediation, and
S4: ultimately that they understand this is the settlement X, Y
S4: and Z and that they approve it. So, you know,
S4: it's a it's an important role and it's an important
S4: time for somebody who has an important role during that mediation.
S3: And I guess that leads me to the next kind
S3: of question, because we started off talking about depositions. We're
S3: talking about mediation at this point, and we're kind of
S3: getting towards the end of a quote unquote, a day
S3: in the life of a plaintiff. We've had those first
S3: two kind of parts of their case. And the final
S3: part of the case after you get through mediation, say mediation.
S3: Is successful. You kind of alluded to that the judge
S3: has to really sign off on everything the the plaintiff
S3: has to or the class representative. If we have a
S3: class certified in a class action lawsuit, the judge is
S3: going to you mentioned that the judge would speak to
S3: the attorney you, but also the class representative to make
S3: sure that this is exactly what they want, that their
S3: rights are met and and that they've done everything in
S3: the best interest of the class, I would assume. Has
S3: there ever been a time. Sorry, I know I like
S3: these specific examples. Has there ever been a time where
S3: you went through the whole mediation process, you had everything
S3: agreed to, and then the class representative kind of changed
S3: their mind the next time they spoke to the judge
S3: when it came to the concluding process. Has that ever happened?
S4: Yes. And it's never a good day.
S3: No, it doesn't sound like it would be.
S4: No, it's not a good day. You know, imagine you're two,
S4: three years into a into a lawsuit in the time
S4: you've put forward, You know, from both parties perspective, some
S4: from the class representative client's perspective. It's a bad day
S4: from the lawyers who have who have worked for free
S4: for 2 or 3 years. We don't get paid. We
S4: work on a contingent fee, like all plaintiff lawyers. And
S4: we've probably put in anywhere from, you know, 20 to
S4: $100,000 of our own money to fund the lawsuit. It's
S4: not a good day, but that's the system. And it's
S4: it's much like many things in our government in America,
S4: it's a checks and balance kind of system. So, you know,
S4: what ends up happening is if we walk out of
S4: the mediation, you know, there's a couple of ways that
S4: can end. Either there's no deal and everybody goes back
S4: to litigation and maybe has a second mediation at some point.
S4: There's an individual settlement for just the class representative or
S4: there's a group settlement, you know, either a collective or
S4: a class settlement. So let's assume for purposes of your
S4: question that we end the day at the mediation with
S4: one of those group settlements where it's either it's going to,
S4: you know, include a lot of people either as a
S4: what's called a rule 23 class action or a 216,
S4: B collective action. And we can talk about the slight
S4: but important differences between those two. So we go home and,
S4: you know, sometimes there's buyer's remorse. You've heard that phrase before.
S4: Someone buys something and they later go, okay, I don't
S4: I don't think they should have done that. Well, you know,
S4: if the client has that, they usually let us know.
S4: And so we'll we'll engage in some conversations with them,
S4: kind of remind them about all the problems of the case,
S4: you know, and why we compromised. And usually that works
S4: because again, if you've set the table properly before the mediation,
S4: you've done the preparation, everybody is prepared to compromise. And
S4: you have good lawyers and you and you've taken the
S4: enough depositions, you are set up for success. And if
S4: success happens, it probably happened for a good reason. You
S4: didn't just stumble into it, you didn't just have a
S4: bad day. So sometimes we just have to remind the
S4: class rep or the client, look, this is this is
S4: what we did. Remember at noon, this happened. And then
S4: remember at 3:00 this happened and what we did and
S4: and they usually, you know, kind of come back to
S4: that place in their mind where they were when the
S4: settlement took place, but not always. Right. So in in
S4: in some instances, they don't agree. So what happens in
S4: under the federal law is the group settlement, if you will,
S4: requires each person to opt in. So they actually have
S4: to exercise their right once they hear about the settlement
S4: to to actually opt into it. There's a variety of
S4: ways they can do that and times they can do
S4: that in the case. But at the end of the day,
S4: they essentially have to exercise and voice their their right
S4: to join the settlement. The Rule 23 class actions come
S4: under state law and they're exactly the opposite. So under
S4: Rule 23, if you don't do anything, you're automatically in
S4: to the end of the case and into any settlement,
S4: you're included there. If you want to be excluded, you
S4: have to send in a form and it's called an
S4: opt out form, and you have to exclude yourself by
S4: a certain deadline if you do not want to be
S4: part of the case or do not want to be
S4: part of the settlement. So in your instance, if we
S4: had a mediation that resulted in a settlement and it
S4: was a Rule 23 class action type settlement under state law,
S4: then notice would go out to everybody and everybody would
S4: have their chance to opt out or be bound by it.
S4: So if the class representative decides it's not a good settlement,
S4: we have to decide are we going to go forward
S4: and recommend it to the judge, despite the class representing. Natives. Objection.
S4: And be able to say to the judge, look, we
S4: have a disagreement. Our obligation is to the larger group.
S4: Here's the 10 or 15 reasons why we believe it
S4: is a good settlement. The class representative now disagrees. And
S4: here they are. And they can say their their piece.
S4: And ultimately, the judge, again, has the ultimate authority to
S4: decide whether to accept that settlement or not. And they
S4: can accept it even over the objection of the class representative.
S4: And it can go forward. Now, we may have to
S4: get a substitute class rep at some point to, you know,
S4: kind of dot the I's and cross the T's. But
S4: they they can accept it at the same time. Maybe
S4: the judge sides with the class representative and says, you know,
S4: I don't like this settlement. Um, you have not explained
S4: to me why it only goes back one year instead
S4: of two years. What's the answer to that? They may
S4: have a lot of questions. You know, you haven't explained
S4: to me, Mr. Thompson, why it only includes part of
S4: the bootup process for the computers, but not the checking
S4: of the email at a later date in time. I
S4: don't understand. And they ultimately believe that we have not
S4: settled what's called a fair and reasonable settlement. Then they'll
S4: deny it. Interesting.
S3: And that brings up a lot more. I know that
S3: there's a lot of details that comes into the finishing
S3: of this case, and a lot of people probably wouldn't
S3: think about this. You know, when you're in the day
S3: in the life of a plaintiff, you know, you you're
S3: kind of setting the table for everything to what to
S3: expect as far as, say, that the settlement is successful. Right.
S3: And now we have a 10 million judgment or something
S3: like that for all this huge class. How do the
S3: payments work? Does the person who was the class representative,
S3: do they get a little bit more? What's that process
S3: usually like and how long does it.
S4: Take part of the settlement? It's called a motion. That's
S4: where you submit the settlement in writing and you request
S4: the judge to to decide if it's fair and reasonable.
S4: You have to also explain to the judge how the
S4: settlement monies are going to be distributed. It may be
S4: that they're distributed based on how many work weeks a
S4: person has. So if Justin has 30 work weeks during
S4: the class period and Jason has ten, I you should
S4: be getting probably three times as much money as I am. Right?
S4: So if it's based on a work week, sometimes it's
S4: broken down in more detail. Sometimes there's some amount of
S4: money for hours worked under 40, whereas there might be
S4: additional funds. If you worked over 40 to account for overtime.
S4: There may be different aspects of the job and we
S4: may decide that some aspects are really bad cases, but
S4: we're going to get those people some money. Whereas other
S4: aspects of the job were really, really good, strong cases
S4: and those people should get the bulk of the settlement dollars.
S4: So that whole process is part of the mediation we
S4: talked about. It's part of the settlement agreement. It's not
S4: just everybody gets 50 bucks. You know, they're a lot
S4: more complicated than that. But we have to explain that
S4: to the judge as part of that approval process. And
S4: then what typically happens is the defendant will write a check.
S4: You know, that check will go to pay for all
S4: of the funding available to the workers. It will pay
S4: for the attorney's fees because we haven't been paid along
S4: the way and it'll pay for any of the court
S4: approved costs that that have been expended. So once that's done,
S4: we typically hire a third party called a claims administrator.
S4: These are companies that do settlements and run these settlements
S4: and administer the settlements all the time. It's their full
S4: time job and they'll get a copy of the settlement agreement.
S4: They'll meet with the lawyers on the telephone or in
S4: person to go through those criteria that we just talked
S4: about so that they understand how many people fit in.
S4: Group one, group two group three. There may even be
S4: a claim form, some type of a question and answer
S4: form that goes out to every class member that they
S4: have to sign and maybe provide some information. You know,
S4: did you ever have to boot up your computer prior
S4: to your shift? Yes or no? Those claim forms will
S4: then come back and the settlement administrator will read them
S4: and decide what group you fall into. There could be
S4: some discussion about that. But at the end of the day,
S4: when that process is done, then the money that's available
S4: for the settlement will be allocated to each person based
S4: on their claim form or based on their criteria. And
S4: essentially checks then go out to all of the workers
S4: based on that. So your question was, would the name
S4: plaintiff perhaps get some additional funds? Yeah. So typically that.
S4: Does happen, but it is completely discretionary to the judge.
S4: There is no flat out right to demand additional payment
S4: for the plaintiff. But most judges in class actions today
S4: in America do make an additional award amount for the
S4: named plaintiff as a reflection of two things. One, having
S4: the courage to step forward and sign their name to
S4: the lawsuit. That's a courageous thing to do. You face
S4: perhaps perhaps blackballing at work or being shunned at the
S4: community events. That's that's something that the courts understand is
S4: necessary in order for these laws to be enforced. They
S4: don't just self execute. Someone actually has to file that
S4: lawsuit and actually win. And then of course, the second
S4: piece is how much time they've spent. You know, did
S4: they just talk to the lawyer for a half hour?
S4: And three years later, there's a check? Or did they
S4: actually have to spend time explaining the job, explaining the
S4: steps that were necessary, explaining the documents? Did they sit
S4: for a deposition? Did they prepare for mediation and they
S4: attend mediation. The more that we can demonstrate that the
S4: class representative actually did to assist the case, the more
S4: likely it is that the court will award that additional
S4: payment that you referenced.
S3: And if I were to get a check, say I
S3: was part of a class action, am I paying taxes
S3: like I normally would on wages?
S4: Absolutely. Absolutely. These are wage and hour lawsuits. And in America,
S4: there's only two things, right, that are certain, death and taxes.
S4: And so wages are taxed. We have two options on
S4: how to characterize the payment. On an earlier podcast, we
S4: talked about how the law provides for liquidated damages or
S4: double your damages. So half of the damages are arguably
S4: penalties that aren't wages. And most tax experts would tell
S4: you that that's not taxable. So we typically divide, say,
S4: your $2,000 check, your settlement check as half wages and
S4: half penalty, and then you would get a W9 for
S4: your your wage portion of that and it is taxable.
S4: At the same time, the employer has to pay withholding
S4: on these as well. So there's a withholding provision whereby
S4: the employer would contribute that part of the of the
S4: taxable amount owed on the settlement as well.
S3: Wow. There's just so much that goes into this. It's
S3: it's crazy. Like the fact that we started at the
S3: beginning of this podcast talking about depositions and then mediation
S3: and now settlement. I feel I feel like I'm ready
S3: to go through with the lawsuit. I'm just joking, of course.
S3: But it's really interesting because no one really gets this
S3: kind of breakdown. No one thinks about the details of
S3: if I'm going to sue my boss, if I'm going
S3: to sue my employer. All these things go into it
S3: on the attorneys side, on the plaintiff side, you know,
S3: a day in the life of a plaintiff, it could
S3: be very, very stressful. It's not just a day, that's
S3: for sure. It's we probably should have named it a
S3: week or a month in the life of a plaintiff
S3: because it's such a lengthy process that has so many
S3: checks and balances to make sure that there's a lot
S3: at stake here. We want to make sure everyone is
S3: not having the rights violated and through the whole process
S3: of the court process to of not having their their
S3: rights violated as well. So this has been a this
S3: has been an eye opening episode for me. It's really interesting.
S3: And thank you, Jason, for everything. We really appreciate all
S3: the information. I have so many more questions. I just
S3: know that we're going to have so many more episodes
S3: to talk about them. I have to kind of hold
S3: them back right now.
S4: Well, I'm glad you came up with this topic, Justin,
S4: and everyone should know it was your idea. And when
S4: you came up with that title, I immediately had the
S4: same reaction that you just voiced, which it's not a day.
S4: But then as I thought about it more, the plaintiff
S4: involvement in these lawsuits is really a series of days.
S4: And kind of what we talked about today in an
S4: earlier podcast are those days, those those specific events. You know,
S4: the deposition is a day, the mediation is a day. So,
S4: you know, the topic is fantastic. I think breaking it
S4: down into bite sized days is not only something that's manageable,
S4: but it actually fits. And most of our clients find
S4: at the end of this process, even if it does
S4: take two solid years, really was worth it. It was
S4: not that terribly inconvenient. They were, of course, well represented.
S4: Mean We take very good care of our clients. They're
S4: very important to us. And at the end of the day,
S4: as I said, these laws are not self-executing. You know,
S4: the only thing that stands between an employer, a company
S4: that's trying to steal wages from their employees and accountability
S4: is a is a worker who says. I'm standing up
S4: for this. I'm going to go forward and blow the whistle,
S4: if you will. And we really are doing the the
S4: final work to hold these employers accountable and make sure
S4: that people are paid for every hour that they work.
S4: And we can't do it without clients. If the client
S4: isn't isn't feeling comfortable and understanding the process and willing
S4: to come forward, then there is no accountability. And every
S4: business that I've ever been associated with, anybody I've ever
S4: talked to that runs businesses will tell you that one
S4: of the largest costs is labor. And so there's a
S4: natural incentive to to cheat that maybe cut corners or
S4: just outright steal from the workers. And and that's why
S4: this law was was passed back in 1938 and why
S4: it's still alive today.
S3: And that's why you guys are here, to make sure
S3: that those laws are enforced. So if someone is listening
S3: to what we just talked about or has heard anything
S3: that really piques their interest about maybe needing to bring
S3: a suit against their boss, their employer, where would they
S3: go to find you?
S4: So our website is easy to get a hold of.
S4: It's w w w dot summers s o mers p c.com.
S4: And we have a bunch of information. We have videos,
S4: we have past cases, of course, bios from all of
S4: the lawyers and anybody who wants to go to summers
S4: PC should be able to find out more than than
S4: they ever wanted to about waging our lawsuits and how
S4: they work.
S3: I think a lot of people will probably want to
S3: know more, which is why we're going to keep doing
S3: these podcasts about in episodes about this information, because there's
S3: just a lot that goes into it that people don't
S3: even think about. And and you guys have Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,
S3: YouTube and the variations of that. I'm sure they can
S3: they can find that on your website. We'll also put
S3: all of that information in the show notes, too, so
S3: you can just, you know, hopefully go directly to those
S3: social networks to get a hold of you guys and
S3: get more good information. Absolutely. So thank you, everyone, for
S3: joining us. My name is Justin Isaac. Once again, this
S3: is overdue Over time. Presented by Summer Shorts, I've been
S3: joined by Jason Thompson, where we have talked about a
S3: day in the life of a plaintiff. Thank you, everyone,
S3: for listening. We appreciate it. And we'll see you next time.
S5: If you have comments, questions and show ideas, visit Sommers PC.
S5: Com overdue Overtime is produced at the IVC Media Lab
S5: in San Diego, California. Your host is Justin Isaac. Jessica
S5: Garcia serves as general manager, while Elia Ramos is the
S5: creative director. Lina Alvarez assists with production and Chad Peace
S5: as president and founding partner. This has been a presentation
S5: of Sommers Schwartz on the Olas media network.
S2: Olas Media.