Henson & Efron Receives Court Award of Attorneys Fees in Employment Case Involving Maternity/Parenting Leaves of Absence

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 21, 2005, Minneapolis, MN – Henson & Efron lawyer Bruce Recher settled an employment case on behalf of female sales employees who were penalized under their employer’s performance evaluation system. As a part of the settlement, Henson & Efron received a court ordered award of attorneys fees of $395,706 for its three year effort, to be paid by the employer. The judge recognized that the issue of whether the performance evaluation system unfairly penalized female employees who stayed home with their children after childbirth was “complex and time consuming”.

In awarding the law firm reasonable attorneys fees, the court focused on the favorable results obtained – the settlement exceeded the amount of any back pay awards the plaintiffs could have obtained at trial, but also included compensation for emotional injury. The judge also found the lawyers’ work promoted the public interest in ensuring freedom from discriminatory practices, due to changes in the system made by the employer.

The case had a series of complicated issues, including whether the employer’s policies violated the Minnesota Parenting Leave Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, or amounted to sex discrimination, either because of the employer’s intent (disparate treatment), or because of the effect of the policy (disparate impact).

Henson & Efron, P.A., a mid-sized law firm with more than 30 attorneys, is located in Minneapolis. The firm is known for its excellence in delivering a full range of legal services to individuals and businesses of all sizes. Henson & Efron is a member of Legal Netlink Alliance, an international consortium of law firms providing integrated, cost-effective, high-quality legal services to clients around the world. More information can be found at: www.hensonefron.com.

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