If You Want to Stay in the Cave, Behave! Some Witticisms From an Employees' Lawyer



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The Caveman Mentality

When it comes to workplace disputes, I have come to conclude that we are not far removed from the thinking processes of cavemen and cavewoman.  What do employees that believe they are being unfairly bullied, discriminated against, targeted or otherwise disenfranchised feel? Feelings! 

What feelings?  Ancient stuff. Jealousy, fear, loneliness, entitlement to a better existence...No different than what our ancestors felt.

Like those feelings, little else has changed.  He who has the gold makes the rules.  The biggest caveman chooses who stays in his cave.  Demanding that the head cavewoman changes her ways, or asking that all of the other cavepeople rise up with you to usurp the biggest caveman generally will not work.

So, if you want to stay in the cave, behave - at least until you find better cave.


A Matter of Principle

Many employees who fight against workplace injustice, all the while incrementally destroying their job security, tell me that, while they realize they are going to lose their jobs, they will continue their battle for justice because it is a matter of principle.

Trumps Principle....

"Principle," I cry.  "Oh, OK.  I did not realize that was it.  I'll tell you what.  Call your mortgage company and tell them you will be paying your mortgage with principle for the next 6 months because you have a lot of it.  If they say that is fine then, by all means, carry on your present course!"




What Came First? 
Your Complaint or Discipline?

Timing is Everything

In real estate, it is "location, location, location"  In employment law, it is "timing, timing, timing."

It is extremely hard to prove a retaliation case when you did not register your first complaint of X until after you received a Performance Improvement Plan.  It just doesn't work. 

Thirteen Traits of Strong-Minded People

Forbes.com recently posted an article identifying 13 common traits of successful, strong-minded people. Since these traits can be very valuable when dealing with work-related stress, I thought I would post this link to the Forbes article.  Perhaps none too surprising, but excellent food for thought nonetheless. 

John A. Gallagher is an employment lawyer who represents employees in Pennsylvania.

Click Here if you have questions about any aspect of employment law, from wrongful termination to wage and overtime claims, from discrimination and retaliation laws to Family and Medical Leave, from worker misclassification issues to non-compete agreements…

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