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

April 6, 2021 by Haeggquist & Eck

We’re thrilled to announce that Haeggquist & Eck attorneys Alreen Haeggquist, Amber Eck, and Aaron Olsen have been selected to the 2021 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.

Alreen Haeggquist and Amber Eck were each also selected for inclusion in the Top 25 Women San Diego Super Lawyers list and the Top 50 San Diego Super Lawyers list.

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 and Aaron for this incredible honor! (And check out our ad in this year’s San Diego Super Lawyers magazine)

Are Employers Liable For Sexual Harassment Caused By Clients & Customers?

October 15, 2020 by Haeggquist & Eck

When people think about sexual harassment at work, they typically imagine it within the confines of people employed by the same company. While this is not a misconception about the dynamics of most cases of sexual harassment at work, it’s an incomplete picture.

Employees can and do experience sexual misconduct and abuse from their employer’s customers and clients. Known as third-party sexual harassment, this phenomenon isn’t often spoken about during the same breath as what occurs between coworkers or employees and their supervisors. While that may be the case, the employer may be no less liable for failing to take action if an employee reports harassment coming from someone with whom the employer does business.

As with sexual harassment occurring among those employed by the same company, instances involving third parties must be so severe or pervasive enough that a hostile work environment is created. This can easily be the case if a client who frequently visits the company propositions a receptionist or even just once inappropriately touches the project manager assigned to their account.

When Does an Employer’s Liability Begin?

While third-party sexual harassment is different because of the people involved and the employer’s level of authority (or lack thereof) over them – and those are important differences – it’s not much different otherwise.

When employees experience sexual misconduct or abuse from their employer’s customers or clients, they must report the activity so that the employer has a chance to resolve the issue. It’s only when the employer becomes aware of the problem that they assume liability to address and correct it.

Employees may fear that reporting someone with whom their employer does business will affect their employment, but under no circumstances can an employer legally retaliate against the employee for filing a sexual harassment claim – even if it’s against someone who represents a revenue stream to the company.

Just as with internal cases of sexual harassment, the employer must elevate the sexual harassment report above all other business priorities and take action to correct the issue.

In some cases, such corrective action may include:

Directly addressing the matter with the client by making it clear that the behavior is inappropriate and won’t be tolerated
Changing the location of the employee’s workstation to limit interaction with the client
Placing another employee on the client’s account
Asking the client to send over a new representative
Dropping the client

These are merely a few of the possible ways that an employer can and should intervene to protect their employee – and again, doing so ought to be the employer’s priority.

Employers Must Avoid Unintentional Punishment For Reporting

While employers are prohibited by law from overtly retaliating against employees who report sexual harassment, they must also take care to ensure that any corrective actions they pursue to address the misconduct don’t unintentionally punish the employee.

Such can be the case when an employer immediately decides to remove an employee earning a commission from a high-performing account without consulting with the employee. Sending the employee elsewhere in the company where he or she would be making less of a commission than before could be viewed as retaliation for reporting sexual harassment.

Under circumstances such as this, an employer wouldn’t be wrong to open a discussion with the employee about how the problem can be agreeably mitigated without adversely impacting the employee. Regardless, employees should not find themselves in the place of making concessions to avoid being mistreated by their employer’s customers or clients – if the problem absolutely cannot be otherwise mitigated, the employer may be left with no option but to drop the client.

Contact Haeggquist & Eck, LLP for Assistance

At Haeggquist & Eck, LLP, we proudly represent employees who need to hold their employers accountable for violations of their rights at work. Sexual harassment is a key issue in employment law, and our attorneys frequently assist clients who have experienced it and decide to pursue fair and just compensation from their employers.

Get in touch with us today to schedule a free initial consultation with someone who can help. Call (619) 342-8000 or fill out our online contact form to reach someone at our firm.

Three Haeggquist & Eck Attorneys Named To Prestigious “Best Lawyers of America” List

August 24, 2020 by Haeggquist & Eck

Partner Alreen Heggquist was selected by her peers for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America_© 2021 in the field of Consumer Protection Law;
Partner Amber Eck was included in the Best Lawyers in America_© 2021 for her work in Securities Litigation; and
Associate Ian Pike received a 2021 Best Lawyers: Ones To Watch recognition for Labor and Employment Law – Employee.

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers_® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. Almost 108,000 industry leading lawyers are eligible to vote (from around the world), and we have received over 13 million evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. For the 2021 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America_©, 9.4 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in more than 67,000 leading lawyers being included in the new edition. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed.

To schedule your free initial consultation, contact us online or call (619) 342-8000 today!

Haeggquist & Eck, LLP Featured in San Diego Super Lawyers Magazine

April 1, 2020 by Haeggquist & Eck

Employee and consumer rights advocates Alreen Haeggquist and Amber Eck were featured in a cover story of a recent San Diego issue of Super Lawyers Magazine, delving into each attorney’s backstory and how the firm took on – and beat – Trump University and other major defendants.

The extensive piece covers Haeggquist’s roots in Pakistan and Eck’s in Montana, and how both attorneys’ lives would develop to eventually intertwine to form Haeggquist & Eck, LLP – San Diego’s most notable employee and consumer rights law firm, and arguably among the most notable in the country.

That’s because the firm has racked up an impressive string of high-profile cases against major players including the Salk Institute, Fairmont Grand, and President Donald Trump and Trump University, which is explored in detail throughout the Super Lawyers Magazine Piece.

For more information about Haeggquist & Eck, LLP’s victories in consumer rights and employment law cases, check out their cover article in Super Lawyers Magazine or reach out to the firm online!

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

February 2, 2019 by Haeggquist & Eck

We’re thrilled to announce that Haeggquist & Eck attorneys Alreen Haeggquist, Amber Eck, Aaron Olsen, and Jenna Rangel have been selected to the 2019 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.

Haeggquist, the firm’s founding partner, was also selected for inclusion in the Top 25 Women San Diego Super Lawyers list and the Top 50 San Diego Super Lawyers list.

In addition, senior associate Jenna Rangel has been selected to the 2019 California Rising Star list. No more than 2.5 percent of lawyers in California receive this honor each year.

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

To schedule your free initial consultation, contact us online or call (619) 342-8000 today!

Hae Verdict Ranked Among Top 50 Labor & Employment Jury Awards

July 23, 2018 by Haeggquist & Eck

Last year, HAE partners Alreen Haeggquist and Aaron Olsen secured a $492,000 verdict against Kaiser Permanente on behalf of a former medical assistant the jury found was wrongfully terminated due to her son’s medical condition. The verdict came on the heels of a four-week trial in San Diego Superior Court and marked the first time a novel “associational discrimination” theory was tried in California.

We’re thrilled to announce that TopVerdict.com included the verdict in its list of the top 50 largest labor & employment verdicts in California in 2017! Check out the list for more information.

To schedule your free initial consultation, contact us online or call (619) 342-8000 today!

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Shareholder News

When Does an Employer’s Liability Begin?

Employers Must Avoid Unintentional Punishment For Reporting

Contact Haeggquist & Eck, LLP for Assistance

We Stand For JUSTICE,

that means we…

Stay

CONNECTED

Call Us Now For Your Free, No-Obligation Case Evaluation

Call Us Now For Your Free,
No-Obligation Case Evaluation