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More on Settling with UC
A Continuation of the Discussion in the April Newsletter
with Additional Suggestions from Another Perspective
Judith Rucker of Breakthrough Sexual Harassment Consultants offers
further tips gleaned from survivors of settlement negotiations with UC. She
paints a Kafka-esque scene of the isolated, exhausted prisoner breaking
down under relentless interrogation and likens him to the woman alone
against armies of University lawyers. If it's seldom quite that bad, it's still
good to be prepared for the worst.
Before you start to negotiate:
* You need to be comfortable to do your best negotiating. Pick a neutral
setting (don't give away Home Field Advantage) and be sure it provides
appropriate light, fresh air, seating and temperature control. You'll need
access to a private telephone (taking a break to call someone you trust can
give you a needed breather) and a handy women's restroom. Think in advance
about providing water, coffee and Kleenex so requests won't interrupt the
discussion.
* Have your attorney draw up an ideal settlement, one with your whole
wish list of provisions. Decide together which items you can give up or
compromise on and mark your copy. During the negotiations it will help you
keep track of what you want as well as what you are being offered.
* Consider having your therapist join in the negotiations. Having more
people on your side of the table helps even the playing field, and the
therapist may be the only person there who truly has nothing to gain or lose
by the outcome. And if the process drives you really crazy...
* Request a brief advance meeting with the proposed mediator and ask
questions: how many disputes have they mediated? how many were settled?
how do they prepare for a case? how do they charge and do they provide an
accounting? You as well as the University are hiring them, and you shouldn't
accept a mediator you are not comfortable with.
* Most Important: Be wary of confidentiality statements in the
mediation contract. It sounds fine that nothing goes out of the room -- you
can let down your hair and really discuss the issues, right? Wrong -- it
won't keep attorneys from later asking you questions based on information
they learned there, but it will stop you from calling participants as
witnesses to any dispute over what was decided.
When you look at an offer:
* Watch out for confidentiality agreements here, too. They can make it hard
to get references for a new job or explain why you left your old one. They
can make it impossible to correct false rumors that are damaging your
reputation or share your experience with other women with similar
problems.
* If you will be leaving your job, insist on a positive reference -- have it
written up and ready for signature, and be sure it does you justice.
* Insist on a specific date by which any cash settlement is to be paid.
* Do not dismiss your lawsuit until all conditions of the contract are met;
you don't want to give up your trial date until you're sure you won't need it.
* Be sure than any release of liability is limited to the issues being
negotiated (you don't want to sign away your rights to sue for some
employment-related medical problem that might surface later) and does not
prevent your suing again should you find new evidence that would entitle
you to more.
* If the proposal includes penalties if you break any of the provisions,
insist on penalties for them as well.
* Remember that each and every item in your ideal agreement and their
proposal is a bargaining chip -- don't give one away without getting
something in return. Everything is negotiable; it doesn't matter if it's never
been done before; there's always a first time and you'd be delighted to be it.
-wage@wage.org-