Author: JGL Law

Federal, state, and local law protect workers from discrimination by employers based on a variety of factors, such as race and gender, as well as personal circumstances such as disabilities, pregnancy, and the unexpected need to provide care for family members.  Discrimination can take the form of withholding of job offers to applicants, unjustified termination of current employees, or harassment in the workplace.  When employers consistently pay workers with the same level of education and experience different salaries for performing the same job duties, discrimination may be the reason why.  Workers often fear retaliation for complaining about workplace discrimination, including when that discrimination happens to other workers, but job discrimination is illegal, and you have several options for protecting yourself from it.  That is what happened to an employee at a Baltimore Retirement Community.

The Erickson Living Management Lawsuit

In 2019, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that investigates and enforces federal employment discrimination laws, filed a lawsuit against Erickson Living Management, a company that operates two retirement communities in Maryland, in addition to several other facilities in other states.  In December 2016, Felecia West, the director of health services, talent development, and global programs, submitted a complaint to human resources regarding an employee who worked under her supervision.  West said that the woman, whose name has not been published, feared that the company’s system of employee performance rating was being used in a way that discriminated against her because of her disability.  The following month, the company announced that it would be laying off some employees in a “restructuring,” but West and the woman on whose behalf she complained were the only ones to have their jobs terminated.

West’s subordinate has anxiety and bipolar disorder, and she sometimes requested time off work to attend doctor’s appointments to manage her condition.  West approved these requests for leave, but the company held the subordinate’s absences against her in its reviews of her job performance.  The reviews also criticized the subordinate’s “presentation style,” a criticism which West considers unfair.  She said that the woman was subject to greater scrutiny than other employees because of her disability.  The woman only confided her concerns in West, not in human resources, because she feared retaliation.

The lawsuit requests that West receive back pay that the company owes her, as well as compensation for expenses related to searching for a new job.  It also requests that she receive non-economic damages for emotional distress.

The Legal Issues

This case involves an employee who was allegedly fired in retaliation for complaining about workplace discrimination related to a disability of a subordinate and for participating in protected activity by providing information to human resources concerning the complaint.  In this case, the disability is a mental illness; discriminating against an employee because of a mental illness is as illegal as discriminating against an employee for a physical illness.

Contact Our Lawyers About Employment Discrimination

Usually, the first step to protect yourself from discrimination or retaliation is to contact a labor and employment law attorney. Joseph Greenwald & Laake, PA offers legal representation to people who have faced discrimination in the workplace.  Contact our law office for help with job discrimination and retaliation.

Affirmed verdict in favor of supervisor accused of employment discrimination. Nunnally v. Graham (DC 2012)

It can seem like everything changes after a divorce or separation, and back to school is no exception.  If you are newly separated, this might be the first year you are not there to drop your kids off on the first day of school.  Or if you have recently moved as a result of the divorce, your kids might be nervous about starting at a new school.

Parents can do their best to ease their children’s confusion about which bus to ride home on which days, and can ease the tension with their ex by getting on the same page ahead of the new school year.  Here are some tips to ease your kid’s anxiety, ease the transition, and quell co-parenting disputes, while preparing for the new school year:

–          Coordinate to fill out the paperwork for the school.  Make sure everyone’s information is included, and go over the emergency contact forms and pick-up authorization lists to ensure that both parents have back-ups on their access days.

–          Work with your co-parent to ensure your kids are clear on how they are getting home each day – when are they being picked up, when are they walking home, when are they riding the bus (and which), etc.  Come up with an age appropriate system to remind them where they are going that afternoon.   

–          Loop in your children’s teachers, and other professionals who work with them at school.  Communication with their teachers, guidance counselors and others at the school is key, especially if your children are having difficulty with the divorce and the changes they are experiencing. 

–          Have a plan for unexpected early dismissals, sick days and weather delays.  Many custody agreements, or court orders, don’t spell out who is responsible for the kids during normal school hours, leading to confusion when unexpected circumstances arise.

–          Sign both parents up for any email lists, notification systems, and to have access to portals or other information sharing systems the school uses.  This can greatly decrease friction caused by difficulty in sharing information that has historically only gone home in a student’s backpack.   

–          Consider creating a shared family calendar through Google or using a specialized an app to coordinate scheduling.  There are lots of apps out there with a variety of different features – see which is best suited to your families’ needs.  Some popular options are My Family Wizard, Coparently and Cozi.

–          Divide and conquer the back to school shopping lists, splitting up the long list of supplies and playing to each parent’s strengths.  One parent can take the kids to the store for new shoes, while the other orders the binders and book bags on Amazon. 

–          Drop the kids off together on the first day if at all possible.  The most important thing is to ease this transition for them,  if at all possible – you want your kids to feel comfortable and supported – if at all possible do that by both parents being at school on the first day

–          When it is not possible for both parents to be there on the first day of school, talk to your children beforehand.  Let them know what will happen on the first day so they are prepared.  Make a plan for the other parent to be involved – set up a special FaceTime call in the morning, or have a special note waiting for the child at school.  And make sure to send a picture from the first day – these are the moments no parent should have to miss. 

We are delighted to congratulate 13 of our attorneys for being selected by their peers for inclusion in the 26th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America:

• Appellate Practice
  • Greenbelt, MD
    • Timothy Maloney
    • Levi S. Zaslow
• Family Law
  • Rockville, MD
    • David Bulitt
    • Jeffrey N. Greenblatt
    • Anne E. Grover
    • Reza Golesorkhi
• Family Law Mediation
  • Greenbelt, MD
    • Barbara Jorgenson
• Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs
  • Greenbelt, MD
    • Andrew E. Greenwald
    • Burt Kahn
    • Steven M. Pavsner
• Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
  • Greenbelt, MD
    • Debora Fajer-Smith
    • Stephen A. Friedman
    • Andrew E. Greenwald
    • Burt Kahn
    • Steven M. Pavsner
• Trusts and Estates
  • Greenbelt, MD
    • Timothy P. O’Brien

All lawyers named to The Best Lawyers in America© publication were recognized by their peers in the legal industry for their professional excellence in 146 practice areas. For the 2020 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America, 8.3 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in the inclusion of more than 62,000 lawyers, or approximately 5% of lawyers in private practice in the United States.

The selection of these lawyers in this prestigious peer-reviewed publication continues to demonstrate the quality of the legal services that we provide at JGL and our unswerving dedication to client service.

1.                   What made you become a lawyer?

I was a speech and drama major at Syracuse University.  I wanted to be a sports announcer.  When I graduated, I couldn’t even get someone to return my calls let alone a job offer.  I decided I’d go to law school and become a sports attorney if I couldn’t announce.  Well, that didn’t work out either. I couldn’t find a job in the area. I would have had to move to California and I was not up for it at the time.

2.            What will be the biggest challenge for the generation behind you? 

If you mean the new generation of trial attorneys, the biggest challenge will be the competition from other attorneys who successfully use the internet to bring in clients based on nothing more than their ad.  Historically, clients came because of your reputation which you assiduously built by appearing in court.  That’s how the judges saw how skilled you were and how the other attorneys got to know you.  When I first started practicing, motions were set every Friday.  As the court saw more cases, it became daily.  Our courts have now revamped the civil system to discourage court appearances.  That prevents young attorneys from getting to practice and show off their trial skills and get to know the judges and vice versa.  They won’t have the courtroom experience that is vital to doing trial work.   

3.            What is the most interesting case you’ve ever had? 

I recently lost a very complex case at the trial level through no fault of our own, instead due to a bad judge.  However, we prevailed on appeal.  Our client’s former husband worked for the World Bank.  The Bank is an international organization and has immunities from US law.  As a result, the Bank won’t honor an order from an American court to divide a World Bank pension.  The US courts have to disguise the pension division by calling it alimony.  The trial judge gave our client far less than half the pension, which we believed she deserved.  The Court of Special Appeals reversed the trial judge and told her to reconsider her award.  

4.            How do you measure success? 

I believe I have been successful when my client has been protected, and when I have achieved my client’s realistic goals. Also, winning cases counts as success.  

5.            What do you look forward to when you go to work every day? 

I look forward to coming up with solutions that solve a problem which plagues my client. Also, I look forward to working with my dedicated team of attorneys and support staff.  

1.       What made you become a lawyer?

My desire to help clients in crisis, and to navigate their way to a better situation while protecting their rights.

2.       What is it like being a woman in a male dominated field?

The field of family law is definitely not male dominated, in the long-term the practice becomes more male dominated when it comes to retaining women attorneys and elevating them to partner and senior leadership positions. So, there remain pioneering opportunities for women who make law a life-long career. Fortunately, I feel extremely supported by my male colleagues in those pursuits.

3.       What is the most interesting case you’ve ever had?

While I will refrain from commenting on any specific case, representing children as their court-appointed attorney and advocate in contested custody cases is especially rewarding.

4.       What is the hardest part of being a lawyer?

Helping clients understand a legal framework and process that often feels rigid and unfair in divorce and custody matters.  And, having difficult conversations with clients about how the client’s budget for legal services affects representation decisions and important strategic decisions that are cost-driven.

5.       What is the best career advice you have ever received?

Be professional and courteous with everyone – including opposing counsel and the opposing party, and every person at the courthouse. 

1.       What made you become a lawyer?    

I had watched the TV Show, ‘Owen Marshall, Councelor at Law’ and had really loved it. Also, both my father and grandfather pushed me to be a professional of some kind. The medical profession was out as I don’t even like to give blood (even today!). That left me with two options: accounting and the law. Although I am decent with the numbers, I coulnd’t see myself running them all day. Hence, the law. 

2.       What will be the biggest challenge for the generation behind you?

Finding a niche, developing a practice and establishing personal relationships with potential clients since many prefer to communicate electronically today. 

3.       What is the most interesting case you’ve ever had?

That’s a tough one. Certainly one of the more fun cases I had was a legal dispute between two professors at Galludet. They were in a dispute over a dog. It was not a dog from a breeder, either. Just a mixed-up mutt. It was really a divorce case disguised as a property dispute. The other lawyer and I still bark at each other when we pass at the courthouse, some 25 years later.

4.       How do you measure success?

Divorce and Family Law can be tough work. I try to do it with integrity and honesty. I am always trying to ensure my clients can see all sides, consequences and potentialities of any particular approach.

5.       What do you look forward to when you go to work every day?

Hoping that at the end of each work day, at least one client feels better after speaking with me than he/she did before. That’s a higher bar than most may think.

1.       What made you become a lawyer? 

It was a natural path for me, as I am a son of a lawyer. Also, I have always enjoyed solving puzzles and helping others when possible, both of which are useful in my profession.  

2.       What will be the biggest challenge for the next generation?

Work-Life balance. They might be better at it than we were.

3.       What is the most interesting case you’ve ever had?

It’s hard to pick the “most” interesting, but one was a divorce case that included a lucrative multi-level marketing business. High profile clients add another dimension since media is frequently involved.

4.       How do you measure success? 

Peace and happiness. The ability to pursue ones desires and care for one’s family.

5.       What do you look forward to when you go to work every day?

I would have to say, interacting with my colleagues.

Successfully persuaded a trial judge to grant a motion for judgment and dismiss a will challenge brought by a disinherited heir who unsuccessfully attempted to invalid the decedent’s will.

Mediation has become a popular tool for resolving medical malpractice claims.

Trials of medical negligence suits are inefficient. They require tremendous resources and the adversarial aspect of a trial actually impedes the exchange of significant information between the parties. It can easily be twice or three times longer to resolve a medical malpractice claim through a trial versus a mediated settlement.

Mediation is a negotiation with a “neutral” mediator. It is often voluntary and is Non-binding unless, and until, an agreement is reached. Parties who agree to mediate their dispute can terminate the process at any time. The matters discussed at mediation are confidential. A mediator may not be compelled to testify to anything told to him/her in confidence. The parties may select a mediator with both the experience and background to enable them to comprehend all of the medical and legal issues which a case may present.

Oftentimes the mediator can help spot the issues for and against a party’s claims and in so doing, convince a party that their claim entails factual or legal risks which they may not have realized. This process of mediation can help bring parties who began the day very far apart to come closer towards one another’s position by the end.

Mediation provides the patient or their family with an opportunity to air their issues in a formal setting, thereby putting forward their case without the risk and expense of a full-scale litigation. Similarly, the healthcare provider may choose to use a mediator in order to help the victim understand that valid defenses exit, or that despite a bad outcome, no negligence occurred.

The mediator, if experienced in medical-legal matters, can help the parties understand both the strengths and weaknesses of a case in a private setting. By understanding the risks that a case entails, the parties are better able to evaluate their own positions and come to a settlement agreement.

A skilled mediator can help facilitate direct communication between the parties as a neutral third-party. The mediator can help facilitate negotiations, by understanding the positions of each party and conveying them to the other party in a dispassionate manner.

The main advantages of mediation in Medical Malpractice include:

Use of Qualified Mediators

There are legitimate concerns that a jury may not be able to comprehend complex issues of law and medicine which are involved in many such cases. Often jurors are unable to understand the evidence or to carefully evaluate it. Attorneys who mediate complex medical-legal matters usually have been working in this field for many years, and are better able to understand the medical and legal issues these cases present.

Avoiding Risk

All trials involve risk, and medical negligence cases are no exception. Jurors can be led astray and their verdicts can be unpredictable. Two different juries, hearing the same evidence, may render wildly different verdicts based on the intellects and personalities of 6 different individuals.

Medical negligence cases can pose even greater risk than other types of cases for the parties. For plaintiffs, the risks are primarily financial. Generally, substantial sums have already been spent to investigate the facts and retain expert witnesses. Since there is no such thing as a perfect case, and because, statistically, defendants win a higher percentage of verdicts, a defense verdict can financially wipe out both the plaintiff and their counsel. The healthcare provider bears the same financial risks (albeit with insurers bearing the risk), but in addition, if the injuries are compelling, they risk a jury rendering a verdict based on empathy. Healthcare providers also have their reputations at stake. A substantial verdict, even in a jurisdiction such as Maryland (where caps will reduce the verdict post-trial) are likely to be reported in the media. This can lead to disastrous results. Mediation performed privately and confidentially, enables all parties to avoid the risk and exposure of a jury trial.

Since medical malpractice claims often involve complex legal and evidentiary issues, a verdict for one side may often lead to an appeal based on errors of the trial judge. This can result in the risk of reversal and the time and expense of retrying the case several years after the initial verdict.

Reducing Financial Costs

There is likely to be a very substantial cost to take a medical negligence case all the way to trial. Plaintiffs and healthcare providers must hire medical experts to evaluate hundreds, or even thousands, of pages of medical records. Then they must formulate opinions and give depositions and trial testimony concerning both whether there has been a breach of the standard of care and whether the breach caused a particular harm. These costs can easily exceed six figures for a complex case with multiple experts involved. The use of mediation can often reduce these expense significantly, by resolving the case short of trial, and in some cases prior to depositions as well.

Reducing Anxiety

Malpractice trials inevitably take a severe emotional toll on the litigants. Mediation provides a method of avoiding much of the trauma, by confidentially meeting to discuss how best to resolve a case at an earlier stage in the litigation. It is also a sound way to avoid that fact that in a trial, only one party can be victorious. Handled properly, mediation provides a process by which both sides can air their grievances and defenses in a confidential way, while at the same time avoiding the further anxiety which a trial inevitably brings.

A fascinating book about a woman who was one of the children involved in the 1000 children project during World Wars I and II. It’s a compilation of letters between her and her father (and her memories). I met the author at a book club in which her granddaughter participates. The author is 97 years old and is absolutely amazing.

Fascinating intersection of history, politics, medicine and science in 19th century America.

I listened to the Audible version read by the author herself.  It is a much-needed dose of inspiration, while subtly interweaving deeper issues of class, economics, gender, and race (to name a few) into her personal journey of achieving the American dream from quite humble circumstances.  She is incredibly relatable, despite her extraordinary life, and provides fascinating insight into life in the White House (actually living in it) and as First Lady.  Reading tip:  Each chapter stands alone, so it’s easy to pick up, put down, and come back to without losing the thread (but, that’s unlikely to happen if others find it as compelling as I did!).

I like reading classics and usually read my favorites at least once a year. I like this one because it reminds me of why I believe in love.

I think all books by Louise Penny are beautifully written and the characters expertly drawn. On top of that, I can never figure out ‘who did it’ until she lets you know. The mystery is resolved in each book but the characters are developed as the series progresses so it is best to start at the beginning. That would be “Still Life”. The main character is Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec (Homicide) department. No deep thinking, no inspiration just a real good time.

What I fascinated me the most about this book is the fact that this actually happened. The author shares detailed occurrences that paint vivid pictures, so much that you forget you’re actually reading a book, and feel like it is rather a mystery movie.  Make sure you have your ice-cream or a bottle of wine when reading this one.

I believe it really makes the reader think about how their actions, attitudes, and thoughts about themselves may not be what others see when they look at them. It is not merely what people do that affects how others see them, it’s the motivation behind why they are doing it. Is someone donating to charity because it’s a tax write off? Or are they doing it out of genuine concern? Is someone giving to the poor because it looks good to onlookers? Or because is it because it is a cause that is dear to them? Dorian Gray makes a deal with the devil (so to speak); trading his soul for eternal youth. He asked that the painting of him age, and that he should stay forever 21 (no pun intended). As time goes by, the painting does not only age due to the passage of time, but according to the deeds that Dorian commits (most of which are not good, thus making the painting look like a horrid, disfigured remnant of who he used to be).

Because we all need encouragement to keep going on. Never give up.

Based on the true story of a forgotten hero, Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the triumphant, epic tale of one young man’s incredible courage and resilience during one of history’s darkest hours. Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis.

GREENBELT, MD – June 27, 2019 – The Department of Justice joined a lawsuit filed by Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A. on behalf of two physician whistleblowers against South Dakota hospital, Sanford Health, neurosurgeon Wilson Asfora, M.D., and his company, Medical Designs. The complaint alleges a scheme involving unlawful kickbacks and medically unnecessary spinal surgeries.   

The complaint recounts the numerous efforts over many years by the physician whistleblowers to have Sanford take appropriate actions to stop the alleged unlawful kickbacks and the resulting unnecessary spinal surgeries. As alleged in the complaint, Sanford repeatedly failed to take corrective measures, and the physicians felt they had no choice but to bring their concerns to the federal government “as a last resort” by the filing of a whistleblower complaint.

The False Claim Act (qui tam) lawsuit was made public today after the federal court in South Dakota unsealed the case and the United States Department of Justice filed its notice of intent to join the suit. The government is expected to file its own complaint in intervention in 60 days.

“We look forward to litigating this case side-by-side with the government,” said Veronica Nannis, who, with her partner Jay Holland, represents the whistleblowers in this case.

Holland and Nannis touted the three-year investigation performed by the government, particularly DOJ Trial Attorney Chris Terranova and Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Roche from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sioux Falls. “The government’s full intervention here after a careful and thorough investigation underscores its interest in protecting patients and rooting out fraud,” said Holland.

Greenbelt, Maryland based Joseph, Greenwald & Laake filed the lawsuit under seal in August 2016. Robert Anderson is local counsel. The case is captioned US ex rel Bechtold v. Sanford Health, et al., Case 4:16-cv-04115-LLP (S.D.).