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


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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