The only difference I can see between them and you is that they are men
June 10, 2013 2:03 PM   Subscribe

I reported gender wage discrimination on Wednesday and lost the job on Thursday. There are two companies involved, an advertising agency and a creative staffing agency. I've looked into the EEOC claims process, and I'm not sure how it applies here because the two companies may be able to successfully bounce responsibility back and forth. Their 800 number tells me that there is about a 2-hour wait time to talk to anyone, so I'm hoping that someone can tell me if it's worth wasting my time with the soul-crushing bureaucracy.

Since October of 2011 I have been working at Advertising Agency through a Creative Staffing Agency (CSA1). I have been working off-site (at home, on my own equipment) for Advertising Agency as an employee of CSA1 doing flash banner design and programming regularly since that time.

In February I spoke with the woman who runs CSA1's Los Angeles office (CSA1-Exec). I felt I was underpaid for my skill level, and I asked for a raise. She agreed to a $5/hour raise for any future work with new clients, but told me that she could not get any more money for me from Advertising Agency because they simply wouldn't pay more. I agreed to keep on working for them at the lower rate because I could not afford to give up the work since it accounted for a large percentage of my hours.

About a month later, in the first week of March, I had a conversation with a Senior Project Manager at Advertising Agency where s/he very pointedly volunteered in a kind of whistle-blower-ish manner that there were other people who were doing the same work, who were not as skilled or efficient, but were paid more, and that they were from CSA1. S/he said, "The only difference I can see between them and you is that they are men."

My experience with these agencies (both creative staffing agencies and advertising agencies) is that if you complain about poor treatment you will simply be replaced. So other than talking about it to a few friends, I did nothing.

Moving forward to the week of June 3, 2013, Advertising Agency's expectations of me had escalated to the point where I decided to have another conversation with CSA1-Exec about the situation, as I suspected that they were in violation of labor laws.

I spoke with CSA1-Exec late Wednesday afternoon, and ended up telling her about the Senior Project Manager's statements to me in March about gender wage discrimination. CSA1-Exec expressed shock that either CSA1 or Advertising Agency would consciously discriminate and gave me a $10/hour raise. I was happy to have the raise, but expressed concern that these clients would just go elsewhere and that I would lose the work, since that was what she had said back in February.

So, on Thursday, Advertising Agency received notification that I would cost them more. CSA1-Exec says she had a conversation with the Creative Director at Advertising Agency and he said they would still use my services at the higher rate.

HOWEVER

The same day that Advertising Agency was informed that my rate had increased they started looking for someone to replace me.

Creative Staffing Agency 2 (CSA2), a competing creative staffing agency where I am also registered, not knowing that I was working for Advertising Agency through CSA1, submitted me to replace myself. I have an email trail with an agent at CSA2 dated June 6, 2013 and it is specific: My direct supervisor at Advertising Agency is actively looking for someone to do flash banner work, exactly what I do for them. The same day that my rates are raised. This is not a coincidence.

I am contractually obligated to inform CSA2 that CSA1 has dibs on my work at Advertising Agency, so I did that. Then I contacted CSA1-Exec, who expressed surprise because of her conversation with the Creative Director.

I doubt that CSA1-Exec said anything to the Creative Director about the wage discrimination claim, but the fact remains that I reported gender based wage discrimination on Wednesday, June 5, 2013 and lost my job on Thursday, June 6, 2013. Now CSA1-Exec is not returning my calls, so it seems that I have not only lost they relationship with Advertising Agency, but also with CSA1.

So, is it even worth pursuing an EEOC claim? Technically, I work for CSA1, and they gave me the raise as soon as I reported the problem, but I lost the work because the Advertising Agency doesn't want to pay more for me, even if they do for other (reportedly male) people.
posted by ljshapiro to Work & Money (24 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Ask a mod to delete this question RIGHT NOW and go talk to a lawyer.
posted by Tomorrowful at 2:04 PM on June 10, 2013 [51 favorites]


You need a lawyer.
posted by quodlibet at 2:11 PM on June 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


Who pays you, CSA1 or AA? Are you an employee or a contractor?
posted by IanMorr at 2:13 PM on June 10, 2013


Yes, you should pursue this. You may very well get a settlement, and you will wight an injustice. Hang in with the bureaucracy, and get a lawyer with experience in this area. Good luck.
posted by theora55 at 2:13 PM on June 10, 2013 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: CSA1 pays me. I am not a contractor, I am technically an employee of CSA1. This is a standard situation in creative staffing at advertising agencies. It's like a temp agency, but for creatives, allowing the advertising agencies to keep their staffing costs low and avoid the responsibilities of an employer.

I can't afford a lawyer, and I've been told that it's unlikely that one will take the case on contingency. I have calls into two lawyers anyhow, but they have not yet returned those calls.

I am in Los Angeles, if that's useful information.
posted by ljshapiro at 2:17 PM on June 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


Ask a mod to at least anonymize this. It's not just about whether you have a lawyer.
posted by Chaussette and the Pussy Cats at 2:20 PM on June 10, 2013 [9 favorites]


How much money are we talking about being lost?

You should budget that, and the sense of injustice you are fighting (fwiw) and any punitive award they will give you (does eeoc?)
vs

the likely tens to hundreds of hours and lawyer fees you will have to spend to deal with it.

Its a cruel calculus, but one you should do.

tl;dr Laywer.....
posted by lalochezia at 2:22 PM on June 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


Your profile, your question, and your follow-up all state that you are located in California. I am not licensed to practice law in California, so I cannot give you legal advice. You and I don't have an attorney-client relationship, nor will we.

With that said, I'll tell you three things. First, you should speak with an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction about your situation. Second, if you just want to solicit answers from people who may have been in similar circumstances about whether they pursued remedies or not, and how they feel about those decisions in retrospect, then you should be super-clear about that and only read those answers in that limited capacity (perspective) and not as advice on what you personally should do.

Third, you should not get into back-and-forth exchanges with IT staff who troll this site looking for opportunities to pretend they're lawyers. That is not a commentary on anyone who might have posted in this thread. It is general advice for people who are in circumstances similar to yours and turn to AskMetaFilter.
posted by cribcage at 2:24 PM on June 10, 2013 [10 favorites]


You need a lawyer. Lots of lawyers do reduced fee or pro bono work.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:25 PM on June 10, 2013


I'm a California-barred lawyer, not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.

There are employment attorneys who work on contingency. Anyone who told you otherwise was misinformed. You need a lawyer.
posted by ewiar at 2:44 PM on June 10, 2013 [7 favorites]


I interned for these people back in the day. They're down in San Diego but may be able to refer you to someone in LA who can help you out.
posted by Aizkolari at 2:45 PM on June 10, 2013


ended up telling her about the Senior Project Manager's statements to me in March about gender wage discrimination.

I think if you had raised this question, with your own observations about men and wages, without mentioning the Senior Project Manager at all, you might not be out of work. Dragging her into it is what sunk you. It's very unlikely that she will back you up--she might also be out of a job. The policies at Ad Agency have nothing to do with CSA1. CSA1 might argue that you lost work for the entire outfit. You don't actually know for a fact that the Ad Agency is looking to replace you with someone from CSA2.

Yes, call a lawyer, make this anonymous, but I really don't think that you're going to to be happy with how this will play out.
posted by Ideefixe at 2:48 PM on June 10, 2013 [4 favorites]


Perhaps you have access to information that you've not shared here, but it seems that you are hinging all of this on the statement made by Senior Project Manager at Advertising Agency. And if s/he is mistaken, or doesn't have access to all of the relevant facts?

What happens if CSA2 finds Advertising Agency a man who is willing to work at your old wage? Worse yet, what if CSA1 finds Advertising Agency a man who is willing to work at your old wage?

This all seems like a big gamble to make based on the information you have.
posted by jingzuo at 2:51 PM on June 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


Don't pay for a lawyer until you figure out if you're even covered here. Since you're not an employee of AA and it sounds like they're the ones discriminating against you, you may not be covered by the EEOC. But if CSA1 paid you less, as a woman, and/or retaliated against you when you reported it you may have something. Spend the time on the phone with the local field office or even take a good book and go there in person early in the day. Give them the facts and let them help you decide if you should pursue it.
posted by IanMorr at 3:10 PM on June 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


I am a California law grad studying for the bar. My parents are a lawyers, my girlfriend is a lawyer.

You need a lawyer. Feel free to memail me if you'd like a name or two in the SoCal area (don't know where you are), but one way or another that's your next step.

And I'd agree that it would be wise to have this anonymized or just deleted.
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:40 PM on June 10, 2013


Don't pay for a lawyer until you figure out if you're even covered here.

Plaintiff attorneys typically do not charge for the initial consultation by which they decide whether or not to take a case, especially those working on contingency (as they aren't charging hourly anyway). Whether or not you are covered may be arguable, and as a general principle that is not the only road to a possible recovery for an improper termination. Which is why it is important to discuss the facts of the case with an attorney in the jurisdiction.
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:41 PM on June 10, 2013


Sorry, but it's not clear: you've actually heard from the advertising agency that you're fired? Because this makes it sound like they were fine with your raise:

CSA1-Exec says she had a conversation with the Creative Director at Advertising Agency and he said they would still use my services at the higher rate.

They could be hiring an additional person because they have more work, not to replace you. Unless you have specific information to the contrary that you forgot to include here...
posted by MsMolly at 3:43 PM on June 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


And I agree with the above that there are employment lawyers who take plaintiff cases on contingency, in Los Angeles. (Missed your location in my first read.) It's good that you have calls in, hopefully that will get the ball rolling for you.
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:51 PM on June 10, 2013


Creative work is very hard to quantify. Be prepared for the staffing or ad agency to say, the level of design/creativity here is only worth $x, it has nothing to do with gender. That's a really easy (and sometimes true) loophole to use. They could argue that other people getting paid more are simply producing better work and given the nature of creative advertising, being so opinion based, it's hard to argue that anyone is actually right or wrong. It's like saying a painting is worth x amount, it will be different in everyone's eyes. I'm not saying that what you're claiming isn't true, I could totally believe it, but brace yourself for them to call into question your abilities as a reason to lowball you.
posted by Jubey at 4:42 PM on June 10, 2013


Start the EEOC process (online?) and any state-level related agency process -- while you look for a lawyer.
posted by mibo at 4:45 PM on June 10, 2013


I can't afford a lawyer

Try your local legal aid. And yeah, get a mod to anonymize this question at the very least.
posted by harkin banks at 6:09 PM on June 10, 2013


I am not a lawyer but I have some limited experience with gender wage discrimination. It is not at all clear to me whether you actually experienced this and/or whether you were actually fired and/or whether your potential dismissal is related to discrimination or your report of such.

If for no other reason than than this, you need to consult with an experienced attorney about this and not the Green.
posted by sm1tten at 6:57 PM on June 10, 2013


There are employment attorneys who work on contingency

While this is true, that does not mean they will take any case. In this case, there is not a whole lot of curb appeal for a lawyer to take this on contingency. This looks to me like OP is complaining of a potential violation of the Equal Pay Act. With an EPA claim, there is no right to punitive damages and there aren't any compensatory damages. At best, the damages would be the difference in what OP would have been paid if the alleged discriminatory pay had not taken place. In egregious cases, one can get liquidated damages that essentially doubles the award.

Based on the few numbers mentioned in the question, I do not think we are talking about a large damages award. Yes, there is also an attorney's fee entitlement, but I don't think that would be enough to get many lawyers' attention. It might be attractive to some, but I don't know how good the lawyer would be who would be attracted to this fact pattern as presented. OP took a big risk based solely upon the word of Senior Project Manager at Advertising Agency. Based on the facts stated in the question, I would not take this case on contingency.

IAAL. TINLA. IANOPL.
posted by Tanizaki at 7:44 PM on June 10, 2013


ewiar:There are employment attorneys who work on contingency. Anyone who told you otherwise was misinformed.
Or intentionally misleading you.
posted by IAmBroom at 2:49 PM on June 11, 2013


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