A Contract on Fayetteville City Employees

City employees beware. First up on the Fayetteville City Council agenda this Tuesday is “A resolution approving a contract with Littler Mendelson, P.C. to provide employment and labor litigation services.” This is on the “consent agenda,” meaning that not a single one of our aldermen think it is the least bit controversial or even needs to be discussed. They’re wrong.

The proposed contract is for Littler Mendelson to handle cases against city employees whenever someone thinks that Kit Williams and David Whitaker are not up to it or that Missy Leflar might be a witness. The firm claims it "is the largest law firm in the United States engaged exclusively in the practice of employment and labor law" and has over 630 attorneys in 43 offices nationwide with expertise in defending and defeating employee claims in such matters as Affirmative Action; Age Discrimination; Collective Bargaining; Employee Privacy; Employment Civil Rights; Employment Discrimination; Equal Employment Opportunity Law; Fair Labor Standards; Family and Medical Leave Act; Harassment; Prevailing Wage Litigation; Reductions in Force; Sexual Harassment; Title VII Discrimination; Unfair Labor Practices; Union Organization; Wage and Hour Law; Whistleblower Litigation; and Wrongful Termination.

The contract provides that Littler Mendelson outside attorneys Eva Madison, former assistant general counsel for employment litigation at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and opponent of public bike lanes near Candlewood Estates, will be paid $215 an hour, and Scott Summers, a former Associate General Counsel in Employment Practices and Employment Litigation and Director of Labor Relations for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc, will be paid $250 an hour for advice. That is impressive. It is also more than most city employees make.

Alderman Robert Rhoades formerly worked as legal counsel for Wal-Mart, so he can attest to their expertise. So can Pam Huber, who was making $13 per hour until she permanently injured her hand and arm and requested a transfer to a vacant, equivalent position under the Americans with Disabilities Act. They fought it all the way to the 8th Circuit and said giving her a janitor's job at another location and at less than half her former wage was all they would do. Ask Phillip Wilson who had religious objections to working on Sundays and lost an EEOC claim fordiscriminatory employment practices because of his religious beliefs and in retaliation for his complaints.Or ask Michelle Richardson who was fired for missing two and a half days of work due to "bad cramping, increased clotting, and a heavy blood flow during her period." She provided a written medical excuse and later had to have a hysterectomy but was denied Family Medical Leave Act unpaid leave. Or Paula Stuhan who lost an age and sex discrimination claim for non-promotion.

Eva Madison and Scott Summers are quite experienced and very good at making sure employees don't get a few dollars in benefits, so their big fees could be worth it to the city. The City Council should at least discuss it and explain why they think this contract with such an experienced big law firm is necessary.