MBA610 - Milestone One

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School

Southern New Hampshire University *

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610

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Law

Date

Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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6

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1 Milestone One Southern New Hampshire University MBA610: Business Law Sonja Wilson July 16, 2023
2 Memo Introduction Memo TO: Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale, LLC - Executive Team FROM: DATE: July 16, 2023 RE: Legal Claim & Defense - Greene’s Jewelry v. Howell Jennifer Lawson was employed by Greene’s Jewelry Wholesale for three years as a junior executive secretary. While she was a great employee, she did have tardiness issues that were quite consistent. Upon hire, she signed a confidentiality agreement to prevent the disclosure of trade secrets related to Ever-Gold. A decision was made to eliminate all junior executive secretary roles within the company and therefore Ms. Lawson was going to be let go along with the others. It was just unfortunate timing that she announced her pregnancy and need for additional time off just prior to our HR department making the announcement. It will be important to provide documentation on how the downsizing was determined and what criteria was used to determine those involved. (Markovska, 2023) In regards to the suit filed for breach of the confidentiality agreement, it is clear that she violated it by providing a confidential letter regarding the process of Ever-Gold to Howell. The employment contract that was signed by Lawson when she accepted the position with Howell should be subpoenaed and will clearly show her intent to disclose specific information on Ever- Gold. The counter-suit for wrongful termination could pose risk to Greene’s Jewelry for a couple reasons. The first reason is that Lawson was terminated following notification of her
3 pregnancy, even though the plan was already in place for her termination. Suing her for breaching the confidentiality agreement could also be seen as retaliation. (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d.) Fortunately, with proper documentation both can be proven as false, especially since her suit for wrongful termination came as a response to the original suit for breach of confidentiality, rather than the proper channels through the EEOC. Additionally, regarding the multiple suits being filed against Ms. Lawson, her credibility should be taken into question as she has clearly violated multiple employment contracts with multiple employers involved in these suits. Client’s Case Facts and Laws If Greene did in fact terminate Lawson due to her pregnancy, they would have violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which makes it illegal to discriminate against a woman for pregnancy, childbirth, or any medical condition related to it. It also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person who reports or files charges of discrimination. ( U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d.) Alternatively, the process for filing a complaint for employment discrimination is not through the court as Lawson has done. Wrongful termination due to discrimination should be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the proper state or local fair employment practice agency. (McAdams, et al, 2022) Given that the company had already made the determination to terminate her prior to her notification, there should be documentation to justify the termination and prove that it was not discrimination. In the case of confidentiality breach, Lawson clearly breached the signed contract she signed in agreement as part of her employment with Greene Jewelry Wholesale. Due to that
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