Severance Packages and Whistleblower Protection
Water Contamination Whistleblower Seeks Justice
Mehri & Skalet is proud to represent Christine Ferrigan, a former Delray Beach wastewater inspector who recently filed a lawsuit against the City of Delray Beach after she was fired for blowing the whistle on ongoing drinking water contamination.
The City of Delray beach terminated Ms. Ferrigan after she alerted the Florida Department of Health and Palm Beach County Office of Inspector General that reclaimed wastewater was contaminating residents’ drinking water and making them sick.
“Christine Ferrigan was an experienced and conscientious City employee,” said Richard Condit, co-chair of Mehri & Skalet’s Whistleblower Rights Practice Group. “The type of employee that most taxpayers would want on their payroll. Instead of being rewarded for trying to protect public health, Ms. Ferrigan was harassed and eventually terminated.”
Ms. Ferrigan filed a detailed complaint with the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) seeking relief from her whistleblower retaliation. She is requesting reinstatement, back pay and compensation for damage to her reputation, pain and suffering and other damages.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel wrote about Ms. Ferrigan’s case, and CBS-12 and NBC-5 aired segments featuring her story.
Severance Packages, Separation Agreements, and Graceful Exits
Mehri & Skalet regularly represents executives and employees who are leaving their organizations. Our clients receive personalized legal advice to help them smoothly transition to the next stage of their careers. We evaluate the legal claims that may be at issue at the end of employment, including race, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, and/or other forms of discrimination as well as retaliation for speaking out against discrimination or for whistleblowing.
The severance packages and separation agreements we negotiate provide meaningful financial benefits and protect our clients from heavy-handed corporate tactics.
Since 2020, our firm has secured millions of dollars for our clients in severance negotiations, with settlement agreements totaling more than $5.8 million. Through the years, we’ve represented a range of executives and employees from bank presidents to chief diversity officers to media personalities to non-profit leaders.
Read more here.
President Biden to Nominate Mehri & Skalet Alum Karla Gilbride as the EEOC’s General Counsel
On June 3, President Biden announced his intent to nominate senior Public Justice attorney Karla Gilbride to serve as General Counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Ms. Gilbride has litigated on behalf of workers and those harmed by corporate and government malpractice. While working as an Associate at Mehri & Skalet, Ms. Gilbride represented workers in wage and hour cases, employment discrimination cases, consumer class actions, and cases brought under the Fair Housing Act.
Most recently, Ms. Gilbride successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court against mandatory arbitration for a former Taco Bell worker in Morgan v. Sundance. In a unanimous decision, the Court ruled that courts cannot craft rules that favor arbitration agreements over other types of contracts.
We are proud to support Ms. Gilbride and our alums as they grow in their careers and continue to tirelessly find justice for their clients.
Read more here.