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In an unprecedented and controversial move, the White House has launched a new program at the Department of Labor which will refer workers who have complaints about their bosses to a toll free number at the American Bar Association, where they can get a lawyer to work on their case on a contingency fee basis.

The White House in a statement says this is “a new effort between the federal government and private bar to assist complainants” who may need help with “worker rights.” In a statement, the ABA calls this new alliance “unprecedented.”

But will this create more lawsuits against companies? Will it stymie job creation at the very companies the President says he needs to help lower the high unemployment rate, including small businesses? Will this new program simply make it easier for lawyers to get business they may have garnered anyway?

And since Vice President Joe Biden says the lawyers will be working on a contingency fee basis, and not pro bono, doesn't that pretty much guarantee that the lawyers will be more apt to earn those fees via lawsuits against businesses?

Moreover, will the government set up an ABA referral service at Labor for small businesses and employers who are having trouble with miscreant employees or are being harassed by frivolous lawsuits filed by troublemaking workers?

The White House has also enlisted the ABA to launch a toll-free hotline number at the Department of Housing and Urban Development to help homeowners with foreclosure issues, as well as a separate ABA toll free number to help veterans at the Department of Veterans Affairs, too.

In a video briefing on the White House’s website, Vice President Joseph Biden says that this new ABA government program is part of his Middle Class Initiative. The Vice President noted that  “it’s not enough to say that everyone has the same legal rights” or “has equal access to justice.” The Vice President also noted that in an estimated one half of all civil cases, one party has no legal representation, and that the economic crisis has created “more unrepresented litigants.”

The Vice President says: “We’re taking steps to help workers stand up for their rights in the workplace.” And though the lawyers are not doing the work pro bono, Biden says workers don’t have to fear paying for that lawyer, because “most all” of the fees will be “contingency on the back end.”

But how will the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division know if the ABA is actually accepting these referrals or if the cases are being resolved by the private bar? In a fact sheet, the ABA says it “will provide the Wage and Hour Division with aggregate information about the numbers of referrals accepted and the outcome of those cases.” Whether the government will need more federal workers to fact check and police this ABA program remains to be seen.


so whether or not you think this is a good thing, the question has to be ask; do we really need such a partnership between the government and attorneys? do we really need the government to get into the lawyer referral business? aren't there private lawyer referral services out there already, and doesn't this give SOME lawyers a leg up on the competition?

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I dont know.  But it kinda sounds like the DOL is trying to set up a situation where they can have an arbitrator step in to helop with these cases...instead of getting bogged down with lawsuits.

An example:  I have a cousin who worked for Toyota for many years (15 or so).  She started out as a salesperson and worked her way up into the finance part of it.  Had her own office, was doing very well.

Yesterday I heard she quit her job because her boss was abusive and finally called her a ****.

Now my cousin had a lot going for her and would not have left her job for frivolous reasons.  She had won several awards and been sent on free vacations to ITaly and other parts of europe.  She did a fine job there.

But I'm sure you would agree that she shouldnt have to put up with abuse at work.

I dunno if she will sue, or if she can sue.  But this is a case imo, where an arbitrator might have been able to help.

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but couldn't your cousin call a lawyer by herself? are we that dependent on the government that we can't even do that by ourselves?