Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney's Association

Dear Steven,
The 11 U.S.C. 525(b) case law is a bit sparse. A relatively recent case from Wisconsin, Robinette v. WESTconsin Credit Union, 686 F. Supp. 2d 1206 (WD Wisc. 2010) may be a good starting point.
A case discussing possible remedies is In re Sweeney, 113 B.R. 359 (Bankr. ND Ohio 1990), which has facts similar to your client's:
Sweeney's termination was discriminatory within the terms of Section 525. The sole reason for termination was his financial condition. Inquiry into his finances was not part of the routine review as a probationary employee. It resulted from the skip trace. Moreover, the terms of his probationary status in the personnel manual, cannot and do not supersede federal bankruptcy anti-discrimination provisions. No job related function was invoked for termination. No reference was made to his favorable references. The Bank found no difficulty with Sweeney's credentials or job performance. The termination, though couched in terms of concern for financial imprudence and recurrence, was premised solely on his insolvency, bankruptcy filing and discharge of debt.
Id. at 363.
Unfortunately, the only relief the Court was willing to grant was back pay. In particular, since there is no statutory authorization, attorney's fees are not available. I suspect that this is the main reason why there is such a paucity of case law on the subject.
Most of the cases dealing with 11 U.S.C. 525(b) focus an inordinate amount of their discussion on the statutory word "solely." See, e.g., Comeaux v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co., 915 F. 2d 1264 (9th Circuit 1990). In context this pesky adverb creates a high, but perhaps not insuperable, standard for victory.
I've never taken such a case on so I can't help you. But I have thought about this problem quite a bit and am waiting for just the right facts.
Good luck,
Nick
Nicholas Gebelt, Ph.D., J.D.
Law Offices of Nicholas Gebelt
15150 Hornell Street
Whittier, CA 90604
Phone: 562.777.9159
FAX: 562.946.1365
Email: ngebelt@goodbye2debt.com
Web: www.goodbye2debt.com

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I have a Chapter 13 Debtor who changed jobs from one credit union to the
other while in a Chapter 13 which is still pending.
He worked at the new credit union for 2 weeks and then they pulled a
credit report and found out he was in bankruptcy. They dismissed him,
then reinstated him on "administrative leave" with full pay for one
month while they suggested he find work in the industry the credit union
services, but he was turned down for that outside job and now he is
unemployed. His termination letter states it was for derogatory items
on the credit report without specifically referring to the bankruptcy,
but that's really the reason.
Questions: 1) What are the remedies under 11 USC 525(b)?
2) Has anyone litigated this cause of action?
3) If I don't take it on, is someone with
experience in this willing to take it on? Please let me know off list.
I'm not sure I can. I also advised him to find state law employment
advice.
Btw, I cannot help mentioning that this is a young guy, very nice, with
his first child on the way. I get a lot of hard luck stories in this
job like we all do, but this one makes me really angry.
Law Offices of Steven B. Lever
>
> Steven B. Lever
I have a Chapter 13 Debtor who changed jobs from one credit union to the other while in a Chapter 13 which is still pending. He worked at the new credit union for 2 weeks and then they pulled a credit report and found out he was in bankruptcy. They dismissed him, then reinstated him on “administrative leave” with full pay for one month while they suggested he find work in the industry the credit union services, but he was turned down for that outside job and now he is unemployed. His termination letter states it was for derogatory items on the credit report without specifically referring to the bankruptcy, but that’s really the reason. Questions: 1) What are the remedies under 11 USC 525(b)? 2) Has anyone litigated this cause of action? 3) If I don’t take it on, is someone with experience in this willing to take it on? Please let me know off list. I’m not sure I can. I also advised him to find state law employment advice. Btw, I cannot help mentioning that this is a young guy, very nice, with his first child on the way. I get a lot of hard luck stories in this job like we all do, but this one makes me really angry. Law Offices of Steven B. Lever> > Steven B. Lever

The post was migrated from Yahoo.