You have the right to what?

The United States is a melting pot of immigrants, and New York City is a prime example of this. On a recent trip there, an enthusiastic young man who was born in North Africa gave me a tour of Central Park, he spoke 3 languages, was a college student in international relations, and earned a living and college tuition by doing the hard work of driving. . people through the park in a bike taxi. He knew the history of the park and was fun and excited about his work. It was wonderful meeting this young man, who was so happy to be doing a job that few Americans would do. And he didn’t act like he had a right to anything. He pointed out the residences of the rich and famous high in the sky in the buildings that surround the Park, worth many millions of dollars. It is interesting to note that the park was created and landscaped by man, sheep grazed on its flat fields, and its original inhabitants were the poorest in New York City who lived in shacks.

At some point in life, usually at a young age, each of us learns, through our parents, teachers, friends, or the police, that we have no right to do what we want and get what we want to have. But that does not prevent the human species from trying to get what it wants and feeling that it has a right to things. Ownership is a concept shared by all classes of society, although many people feel that it applies only to low-income people who receive some form of government assistance. That is not true. I read the other day that the wealthy have weathered the last recession better because they didn’t have to rely on their jobs or the equity in their property, resources that make up the majority of the average person’s assets. But, in a survey, most of the wealthy felt that they would be even happier if they had more than $ 5 million in assets. I also read about a senior executive in a large company making $ 6 million a year, and although he claimed he was in favor of health care for all, and had family members who bear large medical expenses, he did not. I think it was fair for him to pay more taxes than people who earned less simply because he earned so much. In other words, for most people, it is never enough.

The same day that I met the tour guide I spoke with a potential client who felt that he had been discriminated against by his employer for not being accommodated when he had a disability. Employment and civil rights clients rarely suffer physical injuries on the job, but they often suffer what I call “psychic” injuries, such as emotional distress, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Usually this is due to mental abuse at the hands of supervisors or co-workers, or the effort that goes into simply trying to do or keep your job, when someone has decided for one reason or another that it may have nothing to do with it. with the person or their job performance, which they have to leave. The trauma of leaving work can be severe. However, this trauma must be balanced with the law in most states, which is that an employee serves at the will of his employer and can be fired at will, but cannot be discriminated against based on specific civil rights laws.

The potential client suggested that he would like a one-year salary, or $ 50,000, as a settlement because I felt his employer might have violated a civil rights law. He also said that he did not want to return to his job and that the $ 50,000 would not be significant to his large and wealthy corporation. I pointed out that, in my learned opinion, $ 50,000 is not a negligible amount and regardless of whether corporations can afford it, the money is not delivered at will or not. However, this is a common problem that attorneys face: convincing their clients that simply feeling they are entitled to receive money is not enough. Sometimes a long, hard and expensive battle must be fought and the client may not always prevail as the legal system has many pitfalls. That’s why many attorneys, including myself, include in our fee agreements that clients must accept an offer that I consider reasonable, and not an amount that they feel they are simply entitled to.