Greene's Custom Jewelry Manufacturer

Memo Introduction

Jennifer Lawson was an employee at Greene's custom jewelry manufacturer in Derry NH, one out of 3 jewelry companies in the area. Ms. Lawson has been with Greene for three years, and she held the Jr. Executive Secretary position. She is the defendant in the case of Greene's Jewelry vs. Jennifer Lawson as she was terminated from her job because Greene's Jewelry was downsizing its operation. This decision by Greene's Jewelry affected all other employees holding the same position whether pregnant or not.  Even if Lawson was not pregnant, she nevertheless would have been laid off. As she was collecting her items from her office, unintentionally she took a document that had the process for creating the "Ever-Gold", the synthetic gold-colored material used for necklaces, rings, and earring, etc. which is the main product that has led to Greene's Jewelry business success.

When Greene’s found out about their competitor Howell, using the same process for their jewelry, Greene’s sued Ms. Lawson for breaching her contract with them. In return, Ms. Lawson counter-sued Greene's Jewelry for terminating her job because she was pregnant which seems to her as discrimination.

After one week of working with Howell, Ms. Lawson was fired due to her tardiness. Then, she sought employment at the third jewelry company in town, "Triumph Jewels" as a sales associate, which is one of Howell's competitor.

Facts and Laws

Unlawful Termination:

When Ms. Lawson informed Ms. Peel about her pregnancy, and asked for some time to stay home due to her high risk pregnancy, Ms. Peel then informed Ms. Lawson about her position being eliminated. Ms. Lawson claims that due to her pregnancy and her asking for accommodation to stay home, her job was terminated which is a violation of the ADA (Americans with Disability Act) and PDA (Pregnancy Discrimination Act) and the FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act). By law, NH employer must allow eligible employees to take unpaid leave for certain reason.  Ms. Lawson believes that her job was terminated due to her pregnancy and her asking to take time off. She also believes that after investigations, the EEOC will help her file a right to counter-sue Greene's Jewelry with the support of ADA due to her disability being pregnant with high risk, and the support of PDA for being pregnant.

For Ms. Lawson to build a successful prima facie case to prove it is an unlawful discrimination, she needs to prove four facts:

1. She belongs to a protected class which she does being a pregnant woman.
2. She is qualified for her job since she has earned high marks on each of her annual reviews with the company, except the fact that she routinely shows up 15 to 30 minutes late for work.
3. She is terminated, despite her qualification. This fact is not met because her job termination is due to downsizing and terminating all Jr. Executive Secretaries jobs from all departments.
4. Another person filled her position, and her duties are performed by another qualified person. This is not met because her position was not filled by someone else.

There is no discrimination case by Greene's against Ms. Lawson because there is no prima facie case.

Greene's Jewelry needs to show that the decision to terminate Ms. Lawson's job was made prior to her discussion about her pregnancy with Lisa Peele and the need to take additional time off as a result of some high-risk factors that she will have during her pregnancy.  Also, NH is “at-will” employment state which means the employer does not have to have good cause to terminate Ms. Lawson employment. Unless she signed some sort of employment contract that states she cannot be terminated without good cause, it is assumed that she is an at-will employee. In her case, there was no such contract which makes her at-will employee.  This law protects Greene’s jewelry from sustaining legal liability for the lawful termination of an employee. Greene’s has a strong defense against Lawson’s unlawful termination claim. Greene’s eliminated all the Junior Executive Secretary position regardless of their pregnancy status. She would have been laid off even if she was not pregnant like everyone else who holds the same position.

Breach of contract:

When hired, Ms. Lawson signed a confidentiality agreement, by which she agreed never to disclose any information that she might acquire from Greene's regarding the process used to create Ever-Gold. To help her find another job, Ms. Lawson used this document and informed a competing company Howell about the secret of “Ever-Gold”. She signed a contract with Howell stating that she will disclose the info about this process prior to starting the new position with Howell, and not to work for any competitor for two years after leaving Howell, irrespective of the reason for her leave and whether she quits or is fired.

 “A confidentiality agreement (also called a nondisclosure agreement or NDA) is a legally binding contract in which a person or business promises to treat specific information as a trade secret and promises not to disclose the secret to others without proper authorization. “

By signing this agreement, and accepting employment with Greene’s she was agreeing to the terms and was acutely aware of the conditions. The capacity in this agreement is Ms. Lawson’s legal age and her fully understanding the terms of the contract. The consideration is gaining employment at Greene’s.

After her termination, a competitor Howell Jewelry World hired Ms. Lawson where she signed another contract to release some confidential information about Greene’s Jewelry before her commencing her job. The sensitive information reveals the Ever-Gold process that makes Greene’s Jewelry a successful business. By accepting employment with Howell and sharing the secret process of the Ever-Gold, Ms. Lawson is guilty of breaching her legally binding confidentiality agreement contract with Greene’s Jewelry while also violating the New Hampshire Trade Law.

The strength of Greene's Jewelry is that Ms. Lawson signed this confidentiality agreement with Greene’s and then she breached it by sharing the process with Howell. The signed agreement with Howell Jewelry proves that she agreed to share this process before starting her job with them.

Laws

Pregnancy Discrimination Act: “The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) is an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a federal discrimination law. Discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions is unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII, which covers employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments. Women who are pregnant or affected by related conditions must be treated in the same manner as other applicants or employees with similar abilities or limitations. Many states also have laws regarding pregnancy discrimination and breastfeeding.”

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 – prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in employment, State and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation. 

Family and Medical Leave Act – FMLA of 1993 - The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year. It also requires that their group health benefits be maintained during the leave. The reasons for the leave are as follow:

• for the birth and care of the newborn child of an employee;
• for placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care;
• to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or
• to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition

New Hampshire WARN Act “The New Hampshire WARN Act provides additional rights to New Hampshire employees, including the following:

1. Employers with 75 or more full-time employees (federal is 100) must provide advance written notice of a business closing or mass layoff.
2. Notice must come within 60 days prior to job loss.
3. The shutdown need only affect 50 (federal is also 50) or more full-time employees to trigger New Hampshire WARN rights.
4. The layoff at a single site need only involve 25 or more full-time employees (federal is 50) constituting 33% during any 30 day period, or 250 (federal is 500).
5. Recovery is up to 60 days wages and benefits.”

New Hampshire Trade Secret Law - “A common way for New Hampshire businesses to protect their trade secrets is by having employees sign nondisclosure agreements (NDAs). These are written contracts between employers and employees that attempt to prevent the employee from disclosing confidential information after leaving the company.”

The Trade Secret for Greene’s Jewelry is the Ever-Gold process which is only known by Greene’s employees, and difficult for others to acquire unless the process is unlawfully shared. It provides Greene’s Jewelry with a business edge.