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Settlements: Why Should I Settle?
Settlement can be timely and satisfactory resolutions.
The vast majority of cases never reach court. Instead, the parties are able to reach a settlement before the case reaches trial. You often read in the newspapers about large settlements received by victims of discrimination. In fact, the EEOC recently settled the class action sexual harassment claim of seventeen women, who together were awarded $1.3 million. A brokerage firm settled the sexual harassment claims of six women for $750,000. The Army settled a civilian's harassment claim for $60,000. But the average settlement is actually much smaller. One study found that the average settlement in a discrimination case is $38,500. Nevertheless, settlement of the case, if on favorable terms, is an option that every victim of sexual harassment should consider.
There are many reasons to consider settling your case. They include:
It can be difficult to prove a sexual harassment case. The EEOC made "no reasonable cause" findings in almost 40 percent of the cases that it decided.
It can take a long time for your case to make it through EEOC processing. The EEOC is said to have a backlog of about 80,000 cases. It can take several months or even years for your case to be investigated and decided by the agency. State agencies may take a long time to process your claim as well. You may find it difficult to stay on the job when you have a claim pending against your employer, especially when there is no relief in sight. This is particularly true if the harasser is still in a position to harm you.
If you have been fired, settling the case will help you put the matter behind you and provide needed income. If, as sometimes happens, your settlement includes reinstatement, then you regain your job as well.
It is emotionally draining to pursue a harassment claim. You may need to relive the events over and over in discussions with your attorney, agency representatives, and opposing attorneys as the case makes its way to trial. It can be painful to describe what happened to you, and you may find it embarrassing to recount the events. You may feel your support systems weaken as time goes on. You may feel that the other side is attacking you personally and trying to hide from the truth. All these factors can sap your strength over time.
You can settle on terms that are favorable to you. Reaching a favorable settlement can be difficult. In the best of circumstances, settlement negotiations are a give-and-take process. Very few victims, even those with good cases, come away from settlement talks feeling that they have won everything they wanted. And, even when the parties are trying to settle, the company's position may seem unreasonable. Given these issues, try to remain focused throughout the settlement process on the injury that you have suffered and the amount and types of damages you need to make you reasonably whole.
What Factors Should I Consider?
Do I have a good case? Is my testimony believable? Are there witnesses who will support my claim?
What is the company's position? Is the company willing to reach a reasonable settlement, or are they taking an unreasonable, hard line position?
Do I want to stay at this company? If you do not want to leave your job, settlement may be an attractive option because your case can be resolved, but often without the hostility created by litigation.
Do I want to stay in this industry? Will the fact that I brought a lawsuit follow me and make it hard for me to find a new job?
Do I have the emotional resources to wait out the time needed for the case to make its way through the administrative process? If I am successful there, and the company will not settle, do I have the emotional strength to make it to court, and possibly through appeals?
Do I have the financial resources to make it to trial if I have lost my job?
What do I want to accomplish? Do I want revenge against the company? Do I want to see it punished for what has happened to me? Or, do I simply want the harassment ended and the harasser punished? Do I want the company to agree to change its policies?
When should I settle my case?
Some lawyers believe that the best times to settle a case are (1) before you make a formal complaint with an agency or (2) right after you give your deposition, especially if your case is very strong or (3) just as the trial starts. But, a case can settle at almost any time. For example, it can settle immediately after you make management aware of the harassment. It can settle when you file a charge with the EEOC. It can be settled by the EEOC. It can settle during discovery or on the eve of trial. It can settle before a verdict is reached. It can even settle after a verdict, to avoid lengthy appeals.
The EEOC encourages the parties to reach a voluntary settlement at a fairly early stage. The investigator may begin exploring the possibility of settlement while the investigation is ongoing. An agreement that's reached before the EEOC makes a decision is called a negotiated settlement. If the parties find mutually agreeable terms, the EEOC will accept the settlement and stop processing the charge. When the parties are before the court, they can enter into a consent decree. A consent decree is a settlement that is approved by the court.
State FEP agencies also encourage settlement. The Montana Human Rights Act, for example, provides that the agency must try to resolve informally any charges that have merit. The Maine FEP agency must give the parties an opportunity to settle the case before it makes a reasonable cause determination, and settlement efforts must continue even after a determination is made.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLAIMS STEP-BY-STEP by Dale Callender. Copyright ) 1998 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. Published by arrangement with Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
