Offers of judgment can help shorten employment litigation, reduce costs

Litigating employment cases can be expensive, time-consuming, and disruptive for employers. Fortunately, a litigation tactic known as an “offer of judgment” can lead to an early resolution of the case and reduce the costs.

Obvious as well as hidden costs

Employment cases normally involve the filing of various motions, such as requests for discovery (pretrial fact-finding) and summary judgment (dismissal without a trial). Most wrongful discharge cases, for example, are discovery-intensive, involving interviewing witnesses, gathering reams of documents, conducting extensive e-discovery, and taking depositions. Drafting and arguing the motions add to the defense costs.

In addition, the disruption to an employer’s business during the course of the litigation cannot be overstated. While employees are being interviewed and deposed, they aren’t working. While management employees are gathering documents and searching for e-mails and other electronic documents, which may be in the thousands, they aren’t advancing the employer’s business or otherwise tending to their duties.

Employment cases, especially involving discrimination claims, are often emotional. After all, no one likes to be called “racist,” “sexist,” or “homophobic.” Consequently, they cause employees to be distracted from their work even while they’re trying to perform their duties. For all of the above reasons, employers may want to consider early resolution of the cases as a business decision, even when they’re convinced they did nothing wrong.

Methods of resolving cases early