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CARNEY SHEGERIAN | Employment Law Employment Rights Are Civil Rights
Arecent movement referred to as the #MeToo Movement, which saw the viral social media spread of recognition of the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault in the entertainment industry where many high-pro le and notable gures were identi ed, underscored the dangers that exists when those who are in higher positions of power take sexual advantage of others.
e movement, however, only highlighted a problem that has al- ways existed. More devastatingly, the movement only touched upon a fraction of the disparate civil rights illegalities that have always existed, which is o en not backed by the same widespread, let alone viral, recogni- tion because of the lack of high-pro- le gures and social media backing.
is problem is nowhere near as prevalent in any other sector than it is in the employment arena. e average person probably does not associate employment issues with civil rights violations, but wrongs committed in the workplace—such as discrimina- tion, harassment and retaliation – are the same rights that many have fought hard to secure and maintain for de- cades. Unfortunately, such violations are still rampant today, just in more subtle ways and without the consis- tent high-pro le recognition that oth- er wrongs have received in the media.
UNEQUAL POSITIONS
e employment arena creates an interesting interplay between civil rights protections and unlawful and
unequal treatment. On one hand, you have employees who, among any sec- tor of life, deserve equal treatment and opportunities so that they can realize the full potential of their abil- ity to support not just themselves, but their families and communities as well. On the other hand, however, you have employers, who are by their na- ture are in superior bargaining posi- tions of power and thus in an unequal position to their employees to begin with.
e interplay between these two in- herently opposite sides leads to a dy- namic ripe for civil rights violations that are not always overt.
us, the practice of employment law is one that is very important in bridging the gap between these two intersecting sides.
PREJUDICE AT PLAY
Whether the issue is discrimina- tion because of, among other things, an employee’s race, gender or dis- ability; harassment because of one’s sex, pregnancy or age; or retaliation for attempting to exercise one’s rights to such protections in the workplace, employees need to be protected from employers taking advantage of preju- dices, biases and unfair behavior re- garding these areas. Whether con- sciously or subconsciously, intention- ally or unintentionally, employers of- ten harbor some forms of prejudices that in uence their treatment of their employees. O en, employees do not recognize these subtle in uences until it is too late, at which point because of
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their inferior bargaining position, it is di cult if not almost impossible for the employee to do anything about it.
us, while the average person does not typically associate employ- ment problems in the workplace as civil rights violations, it is important that such misconceptions do not go perpetuated. Employees need to un- derstand that their rights are just as important as those in other sectors and mediums.
It is only with such recognition that employees can recognize that their rights need to be protected sooner rather than later, to o set the unfair balance that inherently exists between themselves and their employers. And it is only with such recognition that employers will be encouraged to steer away from their superior positions of power and act not out of their own self interest and prejudices, but for their collective wellbeing as a uni ed group, including the employees that make up their organization.
While there may not be as much mainstream recognition for the equivalent to the #MeToo Movement for your everyday employee, it is up to advocates in employment law to go above and beyond the protections provided by a viral social media cam- paign to protect
employees and their civil rights, whether they re- ceive widespread recognition or not.
Since launching Shegerian & Associates, Carney Shegerian has developed a reputation as The People’s Attorney — ghting passionately for the rights of his employee clients. As an experienced trial attorney, he has tried numerous jury trials to verdict. Winner of the 2013 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award as a result of trying a number of signi cant cases, Shegerian was also nominated, and a nalist, for the award in 2006, 2010-2012. His record of success for his clients is unparalleled. Shegerian has won over 77 jury trials, including 34 seven- gure verdicts as a plaintiff’s attorney.
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