Job cuts, family leave hot topics for 2003, attorney survey shows

Leading employment and labor law experts think continued work force cuts, accompanied by a flood of wrongful practice allegations, including claims of age discrimination and whistle-blower retaliation, will be the hottest workplace legal issues in the new year, according to a new survey by the Employment Law Alliance released Dec. 26.

The ELA is a network of labor and employment law attorneys.

The ELA's 2003 Employment Law Forecast, conducted by the opinion research firm of Reed, Haldy, McIntosh & Associates of Media, Penn., surveyed more than 550 leading labor and employment law attorneys across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Asked to predict the leading workplace legal issues for 2003, the American-based ELA members ranked their top five hot spots as:

layoffs and other reductions in force;

family and medical leave requests;

whistle-blower claims;

age discrimination claims; and

national origin discrimination claims.

Rosalee McNamara, an attorney at Lathrop & Gage in Kansas City, and the Missouri and Kansas representative of the ELA, said the 2003 Employment Law Forecast is significant because it represents the opinions of expert practitioners who are closest to global workplace issues, from the shop floor to the corporate boardroom.

"There's no question that the year 2003 is going to be very busy for employment lawyers, which is not necessarily good news for employers or employees," said McNamara. "For the second year in a row we're looking at the prospect of increased labor reductions.

"Our advice is for companies to think twice and not be pennywise and pound foolish when it comes to setting their priorities for managing reductions, and conducting training and education to minimize their legal and financial exposure."

The survey shows only 31 percent of those questioned said they expect their clients to actively increase employment and labor law training for managers. McNamara said this figure is distressing because experience shows that the best defense against a litigious work force is a sound, proactive training program.

McNamara said she has worked with several large, multinational companies in diverse industries who have "rededicated themselves to preventive strategies as a way of successfully reducing their claims and costs of litigation."

Looking back over 2002, 45 percent of the ELA lawyers polled said there was a modest increase in workplace-related litigation. However, nearly 80 percent of that litigation increase involved work force reductions. The second biggest reason for litigation growth in 2002 over 2001 was the fact that unemployed workers were having a harder time finding work after their termination.

"When times get tough, for both troubled companies and terminated workers, litigation often becomes an attractive option to generate revenue," said McNamara.

There are some hopeful signs in the forecast. For example, 42 percent of the ELA members think employers will be spending more time addressing ethics issues at the board and executive levels.

For access to this survey's charts and graphs, visit www.employmentlawalliance.com.