Case Studies
FL (Family Law) 1901
W/C (Workmans Compensation) 4339
Sample case history w/c 2696
Sample case history w/c 7007
The following case history was assigned by a family law attorney to help a divorcing couple ascertain the reasonable earning power of the spouse who has not been working prior to the pending divorce.
Family law allows for alimony and support for the non-working spouse for a certain period of time. In the seeking of fairness for both parties, an independent third-party (us) were commissioned to determine the immediate earning power of the non-working spouse
taking all factors into consideration.
Almost 50% of all marriages end in divorce within the first 5 years, this type of assignment is very typical of a good percentage of business that is referred for the purpose of having a labor market surveyed performed. This acts as an immediate and forward thinking guideline so final figures may be exchanged by both parties and with a final determination to be made by a third party, such as an arbitrator or judge in the event that both sides cannot
agree on a settlement.
Background of spouse (non-working at time of divorce proceedings)
History of non-working spouse
Graduating college in l988 and living in Boston, Ma., took a job with a book publisher as proof editor and later moved on with the same company in marketing. Worked for this employer for a period of nine years and left to start a family. Income level at time of separating from company was $47,000 per year with benefits.
Ability to speak Spanish as a second language and excellent in writing and editing as well as being able to forecast sales trends. Went to book shows and set-up booths and coordinated with authors, the public and publicity to both print and computer media.
Since l997, has been a full-time wife and stay at home mother to two children. Can drive her own vehicle and wants to work again as children are finishing up in high-school. She would like to get back in the publishing business or related field and pick-up where she left off when she left employment.
CONCLUSIONS:
Ten job positions were located and presented in a format to both spouses relative to current job openings including salaries and duties. The average weekly starting wage for this person taking all factors of her non-employment since l997, is $850 per week with a realistic earning potential within a two year period of $l,500 weekly plus benefits.
The employers provided in this report are in support of this candidate based upon her previous work experience and their ability to offer her a starting position at a rate much lower than they would have to pay a current veteran with her work skills, thus the starting rate of pay of $850 with an easily reachable goal of $l,500.
Based on our Labor Market Survey and Wage cost analysis, both spouses came to an agreement without going to court on alimony and support.
While divorce strikes one out of two marriages, the results do not have to be economically crippling when direction and possibilities are presented in a format such as what we were able to do.
The success and result of our work on this assignment, was many more clients being referred to us by other members of the same Family Law Firm. Our fee for our report, which took a total of l2 labor hours was $3,000 and was completed within a one week window. We were able to do this, due to our experience in dealing with employers and categories of employment and filling the needs of both parties.
Background of injured worker (claimant)
History of claimant
Person worked for his employer for a total of 20 years and came to work right out of high school. He is a union member and made a wage of $900 per week at the time of his injury. Other than working for employer, he has no other work history except for pumping gas part-time while in high school.
Individual is married with three children, all of whom are in school. His wife does not work and the money he collects from workers compensation is not enough to pay his bills. His weekly check is $600.00. He very much wants to work, but does not know what he can do to earn the money that he needs.
Interviewing this person on the phone, he was at first, somewhat distant and suspicious, but warmed up very quick when we started talking to him about his favorite subject--himself! People love to talk about themselves and he was no exception. We asked him what he would like to do and he said that he just needs to make money. At that time, he said he was talking to his brother about starting a "butcher shop", but did not have the money to do this. I asked him how he could be a butcher when he could not lift over l0 pounds and he told me that his brother was also a butcher and that he would work the deli counter and his brother would do the labor work that requires lifting.
Initially, we contacted various companies seeking positions, such as inside sales for meat brokers and associated food products that service food stores. The positions that we did locate were not local to where this gentlemen lived. His area of residence and work history was Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
We scheduled job interviews for him with a national tire chain for inside customer service coordinator--he did not attend the interview. We scheduled another job meeting for him with a full-service car wash as a manager in training and again he did not attend. At this point, he was getting close to putting himself into a bad situation as he is, by law, compelled to cooperate with his insurance company and their vendors (us) in trying to find new work so long as the job is within his physical capabilities and he was not doing this. Even if the jobs that we find pay less than what he was making, by law, the insurance company must make up two-thirds of the difference for a period of two years.
Calling this individual again and speaking to him about why he was not attending the job interviews, he stated that he really wanted to go into business with his brother. I told the insurance company that this person would be ready to consider a cash settlement, which is a one-time large payment that is negotiated by both sides. He could then take this money and go into business with his brother and the insurance company and the employer they insure would have no more financial ties to this person.
Both sides got together and settled for a lump-sum cash settlement of $145,000. Both
were extremely happy. We were paid a total of $7,225 for our work on this file which lasted over a period of nine weeks. The savings to our account was in excess of $435,000 which was their exposure had the person stayed on benefits for his duration as dictated by state law.
CONCLUSIONS:
By acting as a "CATALYST", we were able to bring both sides together and formulate a settlement. This could not have happened without us being a third-party to the workings as neither side trusted each other and there was nothing happening with the file. When we started to schedule job meetings for the injured party and he realized that we were not going to go away, then his true desires surfaced about starting his own business in the same field. He was able to do this as his brother was also a butcher and could handle the heavy labor end of the business. It was a perfect match for the injured worker and a good conclusion for all parties.
This particular chain of grocery stores, recommended us on a National basis and cases continued to come on a regular occurence.