What to expect? Do I bring a lawyer, a family member, a friend, or a teddy bear?
I’d bring a lawyer. One with experience is discrimination cases. Expect to be low balled.
But…you never know.
I thought the purpose of mediation was to agree on something (a settlement, generally) that’s mutually beneficial, without involving an attorney. If you can’t agree on a settlement during the mediation, then it’s time to bust out the legal balls.
First, the disclaimer: While I am a lawyer who has experience with the EEOC, I am not your lawyer and this is not legal advice. I’m probably not even licensed in your jurisdiction.
My thoughts are that you should bring a lawyer, and if you absolutely cannot afford a lawyer, you should at least bring your union rep, if you have one. The agency/company has done this plenty of times before. You haven’t (I assume).
You need to be able to present your case in a way that will persuade the other side to settle with you now. You need to understand what the strengths and weaknesses of both your case and their case are according to the law. You need to know, going in, how cases similar to yours have been decided by the EEOC, the federal courts in your jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court, and what those decisions mean for you. You need to understand everything in the settlement agreement, should you get to that point, including its long-term implications and how to word things to your best advantage.
In short, you really need a lawyer. I wish you luck and hope things turn out the way you’d like.
Slight hijack, but how do cases get decided by the EEOC? What determines whether a court or the EEOC decides a discrimination case?
For some discrimination cases, one cannot file suit until the EEOC has a chance to look at the case. Then, they can 1) prosecute the case themselves on behalf of you and the government, 2) find probable cause that a violation occurred but decline to take the case and let you go forward yourself, or 3) not find that probable cause exists, but still allow you to file suit.
They don’t actually “decide” the lawsuit.
Thanks for the advice. This is my first real interface with the “LAW” except for jury duty and house closings.
Just to update and thank everyone for their advice. I did get a lawyer, we did the mediation and I’m happy with the result. Without the lawyer I would have been lost, he was worth every penny and probably more.