If you are the employee who is making a complaint about unlawful discrimination or blowing the whistle on some other form of unlawful activity at the workplace, the law protects you from retaliation from your employer. However, what protection do you have if you are a witness involved in a formal investigation, or even a lawsuit?

Legally, you are generally just as protected when acting as a witness, as you would be if you were the person making the complaint. An employer cannot legally retaliate against a employee who tells the truth in an investigation or lawsuit. The protection against retaliation can be sometimes be found in statutory laws (that is, the formal legal codes enacted by your state or federal legislatures), or in the common law (the law derived from cases decided by judges). The protective measures found in legislative enactments are often part of the specific statutory scheme that an employee might rely on to make a complaint about unlawful activity. For instance, the sexual harassment laws contain specific anti-retaliation provisions that can be interpreted to apply to both a complaining employee and supporting witnesses.

If not by statute, you are protected by a claim of wrongful termination. That means that if an employer retaliates against you for cooperating with a complainant or investigator in regards to a complaint of unlawful activity, and the retaliation leads to a termination, or creates work conditions so harsh that they effectively force you to quit, you may be in a position to file your own lawsuit.

In the case you are a witness to is being investigated by a government agency, they often have the power to fine or otherwise punish an employer for retaliating against you, even in situations that are less severe than a full-blown wrongful termination or constructive discharge case. If you are retaliated against in any way, or even threatened with retaliation, you should advise the investigator or even contact an attorney.

Why should you consider engaging an attorney if you are protected from retaliation under the law? Despite the protections against retaliation, employers sometimes ignore their obligations. As noted above, the stakes in employment cases can be very high for employers and employees. An employer unscrupulous enough to break the law that led to the underlying complaint may have no hesitation when it comes to retaliating against you for helping the complainant by offering truthful information.

If you believe you are likely to be a witness in a co-worker’s employment lawsuit, and are worried about being retaliated against by your employer if you tell the truth about what happened, you should not hesitate to contact a reputable employment law firm. Because Douglas, Leonard & Garvey focuses its practice on representing employees, we can help protect you if you find yourself in this situation. Call us for a consultation or fill out our contact form.

Although it may still be difficult to tell, with snow falling on Easter weekend, Spring is here, and with it motorcycle season.  It hardly needs to be said that riding a motorcycle carries higher risks for the rider and any passengers than driving in a car.  However, a story like the recent one from Fremont, in which a six-year-old passenger on a motorcycle was gravely injured while riding with her grandfather, after they were struck by a drunk driver, really makes one think.

There is a saying amongst experienced motorcyclists, and especially those who have experience with the motorsport side of riding.  The saying is “dress for the crash, not the ride.”  Essentially, the moral of the saying is that you will crash eventually, whether through your own mistake, or one made by another motorist, like the case in Fremont.  When that day comes, you will want to have the maximum amount of protection that you can get, because you won’t have a seatbelt, airbags, crumple zones or a ring of steel around you to keep you from making high speed personal contact with that tree, guardrail, sign post, or oncoming vehicle.

The most obvious and essential bit of equipment you use to protect yourself is a quality, SNELL-approved helmet.  We recommend the full face variety.  Not only will it offer additional protection for your pretty features, but it will offer protection from bugs and other flying debris.  Most people have had the misfortune of having a car windshield cracked by a stone or something falling off another car.  Imagine that instead of being stopped by a tempered glass windscreen, that stone or debris is stopped by your face.  The initial injury would likely be bad enough, but it could daze you or blind you and put you at risk for a really serious accident.

Beyond a helmet, a good set of riding leathers is essential.  The leather acts like armor to take the punishment of road rash instead of your skin.  Leather also tends to allow you to slide over pavement or gravel, rather than gripping and causing you to tumble like skin or jeans.  Tumbling after hitting the ground is often what leads to broken extremities.  Some leathers have built in padding to absorb the shock of a crash, which are an obvious bonus safety feature.  Good leather outfits can be had in a multitude of styles, from full-out racing style outfits to leather pants and jackets (a la Terminator).  You should be able to find a safe outfit that matches your ride and your riding style. 

Fingers and toes are especially vulnerable in a crash, being some of the smallest bones in your body.  A good set of gloves with armored knuckles and joints is a good investment.  Chances are you can find a set that matches your leather outfit.  Good boots offer similar protection, as well as protection for your ankles and Achilles tendons.  In many crashes involving other vehicles, the feet commonly take a lot of the impact, so good boots are worth the cost.

There are other, more specialized forms of protection available to the serious rider, including armored spine protectors and fully padded/armored outfits.  They offer heightened levels of protection, albeit at the expense of some comfort.  You may only get one chance in a crash, though, so they are worthy of consideration. 

Also, before taking your bike out for its maiden voyage after a long winter nap, have it checked out thoroughly by an experienced mechanic.  Mechanical maladies that would be merely annoying or result in a wait for the tow truck with a car can be downright deadly with a motorcycle.  You need to be twice as sure that everything is in proper working order and ready for the road. 

Finally, if you are unfortunate enough to be injured in a motorcycle accident due to someone else’s negligence, you will need good legal advice and representation in order to obtain a full recovery of the damages you have suffered.  Douglas, Leonard & Garvey has years of experience successfully representing injured motorcycle riders.  Stay safe, dress for the crash, and keep your head on swivel for negligent drivers, but if that is still not enough, we will be glad to help you in the event of a crash.

By now almost everyone has heard of “identity theft,” and probably knows someone who has been a victim. In today’s electronic world, where you communicate via the faceless world of e-mail and instant messaging, and make purchases electronically via the internet or even in face-to-face transactions when using a credit or debit card, it is relatively easy for technically savvy thieves to obtain your personal information and use it to commit frauds which can cost you significantly.

The first step to avoid becoming an easy victim is to simply be aware of how easy it is for thieves to obtain your information. Having an aware mindset will force you to think twice before entering your credit card or other personal info on a website you’ve never shopped on before, or responding to an e-mail from someone you haven’t previously communicated with. You need to be aware of some the tricks that ID thieves use, such as electronically “eves-dropping” on the signals between the credit card reader on the gas pump or store counter and your bank. The much-publicized case involving Hannaford Stores a few years ago came about through this method of ID theft.

Other tricks include e-mails that pose as popular on-line shopping stores, like Amazon, E-Bay, or even the U.S. Postal Service. These thieves will send out mass e-mails, sometimes even using personal information that can be gleaned from your e-mail address, in order to give them an air of legitimacy. They will claim that there is a problem with a pending or previous transaction, and ask you to enter personal information to confirm your identity so that they can work with you to resolve the problem. If you do so, they take your information and use it for their own nefarious purposes. Or, they use your reply to insert a virus on your computer, which can then be used to obtain even more personal information.

In addition to simply learning about the various schemes out there, a few easy tips can reduce the risks of electronic identity theft. Obviously, if you receive an unexpected e-mail, do not just hit the “reply” button reflexively. You should ask yourself if you actually have conducted business with the sender (or purported sender), and if you are not 100% sure, pick up the phone and call before communicating via e-mail.

If you are going to make an on-line purchase with a credit card, check the web address of the online store’s checkout process. It should have “https” at the beginning of the address. That address indicates a secure transaction, which will encrypt your personal information and keep it less vulnerable to unauthorized access. Also, refrain from the temptation to use debit cards whenever possible – even at point-of-sale locations like stores and gas pumps. Use a credit card instead. Most credit cards contracts have some form of fraud protection which allows you to dispute unauthorized charges. By contrast, a debit card transaction takes money right out of your bank account, and it can be very difficult to get it put back in.

Finally, stay on top of your finances. Carefully review your bank statements and credit card statements at least monthly, and get a regular credit score check done. If you have fallen victim to ID theft despite taking steps to stay safe in the first place, catching the damage before it becomes catastrophic is the next best chance to minimize the harm, even if it is a distant second place.

Douglas, Leonard & Garvey represents consumers in fraud matters and cases invoking the New Hampshire Consumer Protection Act. We have also sued negligent businesses who failed to take appropriate steps to safeguard consumers’ personal information. If you have been the victim of a consumer fraud scheme or identity theft scam, do not hesitate to contact us for assistance.