Employee has filed a discrimination complaint with labor board. Do they have any authority to force me to a hearing at my expense?
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Employee has filed a discrimination complaint with labor board. Do they have any authority to force me to a hearing at my expense?
Employee has claimed a violation of section 378-32He said I discriminated against him because of a injury. . I didn’t hire him back after a lay off. He did not have the skills required for some new work that came to the company 3 weeks after he was laid off.
Asked on May 19, 2009 under Employment Labor Law, Hawaii
Answers:
B. B., Member, New Jersey Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 15 years ago | Contributor
If the labor board has sent you a notice of a hearing, they will have that hearing whether you show up or not. Not showing up is a bad idea, because then the board can make a decision without hearing your side of the story.
Part of our democratic system, with civil rights for everyone, is that we give everyone a right to be heard, at some level. Your former employee's claim might be unjustified, but he has to have the opportunity to prove his side of it.
If you need to find an attorney to represent you at this hearing -- which I would very strongly recommend, even if it isn't required, since this can be a very tricky area of the law -- you can start looking for counsel at our website, http://attorneypages.com
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