In the News

Four Haeggquist & Eck Attorneys Named California Super Lawyers; Alreen Haeggquist & Amber Eck Named to Top 25 Women, Top 50 Attorneys Lists

We are proud to announce that Haeggquist & Eck attorneys Alreen Haeggquist, Amber Eck, Aaron Olsen, and Jenna Rangel have been selected for the 2023 California Super Lawyers list. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers statewide are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.

In addition to being named Super Lawyers, Alreen Haeggquist and Amber Eck were each selected for inclusion in the Top 25 Women San Diego Super Lawyers list and the Top 50 San Diego Super Lawyers
list.

Alreen has been named a San Diego Super Lawyer every year since 2016 and was selected for inclusion in the Top 25 Women Super Lawyers and Top 50 San Diego Super Lawyers every year since 2019.

Amber has been named a San Diego Super Lawyer every year since 2017 and was selected for inclusion in the Top 25 Women Super Lawyers and Top 50 San Diego Super Lawyers every year since 2020.

Aaron has been named a San Diego Super Lawyer every year since 2015.

Jenna was named Super Lawyers Rising Star 2019-2020 and named San Diego Super Lawyer 2022-2023.

Why is Being Named Super Lawyers an Honor?

Super Lawyers is not a list you can pay to be included. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and
professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer
reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive, and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.

Please join us in congratulating Alreen, Amber, Aaron and Jenna for this incredible honor!

JUDGE RULED THAT LAWSUIT BY SAN DIEGO COUNTY’S FORMER CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER, DR. NICK YPHANTIDES, CAN MOVE FORWARD 

Haeggquist & Eck, LLP is representing former San Diego County Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Nick Yphantides (known by the community as “Dr. Nick”), in his claims that his wrongful termination was due to discrimination. Dr. Nick was the Chief Medical Officer for San Diego County for over 11 years. He was one of the County’s first public faces responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, frequently appearing at televised press conferences to inform, guide, educate, calm, and empathize with San Diegans. But Dr. Nick’s all-consuming fight against the fear, confusion, and death sweeping the world came at a great personal cost. 

The long hours, coupled with the misery and death encountered every day, caused him to suffer from insomnia and major depression, which evolved into hypomania, forcing him to take a medical leave of absence on recommendation from his doctor. Dr. Nick’s lawsuit further alleges that soon after his return to work, the County failed to accommodate Dr. Nick’s condition, forced Dr. Nick to take a second leave of absence, then San Diego County officials unlawfully fired him before he could return from his second leave. 

In March 2023, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel ruled that Dr. Nick’s discrimination lawsuit against the county can move forward. Judge Curiel wrote that Dr. Nick has successfully shown his “supervisor and colleagues were directly informed of his mental breakdown due to the excessive work hours and high level of stress in his position.” Other employees have sued the county over disability-related allegations. Before workers can file a lawsuit against their employer for any form of discrimination — whether that be race, age, or disability-related — they must first seek permission from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. From 2015 through May of 2020, the state gave 15 San Diego County employees the right to sue. Of those 15, seven employees alleged discrimination due to some kind of disability, according to state records.1 

In an interview with the San Diego Union Tribune, Dr. Nick Yphantides said, 

“From March until October of last year, I focused on issues related to COVID-19 around the clock,” Yphantides, 55, said during a remote press conference Wednesday morning. “But I must be transparent and admit that eventually the stress became overwhelming for me. I couldn’t run from it. I began suffering from depression and overwhelming anxiety. I lost my ability to sleep. And so, in that situation, I did what I believe any of us would tell our loved ones to do. To take a brief leave of absence.”  

“They threw him away because of his disability and because he took time off to treat it, and that cannot stand,” Haeggquist & Eck attorney Jenna Rangel said. 

“The county fell victim to the biases and stigmas of mental health” struggles, Haeggquist & Eck attorney Aaron Olsen said.  

Disability Discrimination and Perceived Disability Discrimination are Against the Law 

Disability discrimination and perceived disability discrimination violate workers’ rights in California. Both federal and state laws protect the rights of individuals with disabilities to work, as long as they can perform essential functions of a job, with or without a reasonable accommodation require employers to engage in an interactive process in good faith with employees to find effective accommodations and reasonable accommodation. Disability anti-discrimination laws require employers to engage in an interactive process in good faith with employees to find effective accommodations and prohibit employers from taking adverse actions against employees due to a real or perceived disability.  The laws also prohibit employers from taking adverse actions against employees for conduct caused by a disability.  

At Haeggquist & Eck, LLP, we firmly believe in equal rights for all and fight tirelessly for the rights of people with disabilities. If your employer has failed to make reasonable accommodations for you, or if you believe your employer has discriminated against you based on your disability or perceived disability, reach out to us for help seeking fair and just compensation. 

Source 

  1. San Diego Union Tribune 

California Employment Law Firm Fights to Give Women A Voice 

In this interview by Law360, Alreen Haeggquist shares how her abuse as a child was the catalyst to her determination to stand up to bullies and how she wanted to build a different kind of law firm, owned by women. Alreen shares how the team she has built has fought and won cases against some of the biggest bullies and institutions such as Donald Trump, Kaiser Permanente, the San Diego Sherriff’s Department, and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.  

Jenna Rangel, Partner at Haeggquist & Eck, shares the challenges of going up against prestigious institutions and how Haeggquist & Eck will investigate everything as much as possible, talk to as many people as possible, and gather as much evidence as possible to build their case.  

Law360 also interviewed Haeggquist & Eck client Louise LaFoy about her case against the San Diego Sherriff’s Department. “Each day, I left that courtroom feeling a little bit more proud that I was standing up for myself and I had these women by my side,” LaFoy, told Law360. When that case became public, two more women came forward and asked Haeggquist & Eck to represent them. 

While helping women stand up for themselves against gender discrimination and sexual harassment has become a large portion of the cases Haeggquist & Eck litigates, we stand up for all genders and non-binary folx.  

When You Stand Up For Yourself We Stand With You! 

https://www.law360.com/pulse/articles/1550519/calif-employment-boutique-fights-to-give-women-a-voice

Haeggquist & Eck’s Attorney Jenna Rangel and Survivor Advocate Christy Heiskala are featured in KPBS News Story

Haeggquist & Eck’s Attorney Jenna Rangel and Survivor Advocate Christy Heiskala are featured in KPBS news story regarding how outside auditors will examine SDSU’s Title IX department handling of sexual assault and harassment complaints. Take a look at the full story here: 

https://www.kpbs.org/news/public-safety/2022/10/27/outside-auditors-will-examine-sdsus-handling-of-sexual-assault-and-harassment-complaints

Haeggquist & Eck Represents Detectives in Sexual Harassment Suit Against San Diego County Sherriff’s Department

Haeggquist & Eck Partner, Jenna Rangel, is proudly representing two former San Diego Sherriff’s Department detectives in a Sexual Harassment suit against San Diego County and former Sgt., Shawn Silva. Find out the full details below.

If you have been sexually harassed in your place of work, our San Diego sexual harassment attorneys at Haeggquist & Eck, LLP want to help. Contact us today to discuss your options.

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