Josh Morrow Workplace Fairness Fund for Employment Litigation Court Costs.

posted by Neil Klingshirn  |  Nov 2, 2009 07:52 AM [EST]  |  applies to Ohio

The Josh Morrow Workplace Fairness Fund provides loans to attorneys representing employees in litigation against their employers. Loans must be repaid from any recovery but are generally forgiven if the employee does not prevail or otherwise obtain a recovery through settlement.

Fund History

The Fund is named after OELA Member Josh Morrow, who was a particularly passionate advocate for individual employees.  Before his career was cut short by his unexpected death on September 22, 2003, Josh made a mark on employment law in Ohio. He was 32 when he died. 

Born September 28, 1970 in Dayton, he was a partner in the Columbus law firm of Marshall and Morrow LLC where he practiced employment and civil rights law. Josh graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor's degree in 1992 and a Juris Doctorate in 1998. While a law student, he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution.

Josh was chair of the Franklin County Democratic Lawyers Club and served in leadership positions on numerous Boards and Associations.  Josh was also an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church on Capitol Square where he served in several community outreach ministries. Josh’s dedication, talent and good nature inspired us to carry on his work through the Fund.

Past Recipients

The Josh Morrow Litigation Fund began in 1999.  It has made loans to a variety of cases.  These include Ronald Mize, et al. v. The Mendoza Co., in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.  Mr. Mize was employed as an area supervisor by the Defendant, which operates several McDonald’s restaurants in Central Ohio. He suffered a major orthopedic on the job injury and developed complications.  He was denied FMLA leave, harassed and discriminated against, and ultimately fired.  The Fund provided a loan to help defray the costs of depositions and expert witness fees.

The Fund also assisted the litigants in the landmark case of  Wexler v. White’s Fine Furniture.  In an en banc decision, the Sixth Circuit limited an employer’s so-called “good faith business judgment” defense, holding that an employers claim of good faith may be tested for pretext.

Application Form:

An application form is available at the Ohio Employment Lawyer's Association website, located at OELASmart.net.

Criteria for Selection

Although the Fund does not have rigid rules and evaluates each application on its own merits, the Board generally considers the following criteria:

1. The applicant should be an attorney representing an employee or employees involved in litigation, or about to be involved in litigation, in the area of employment law.
   
   
2. The nature of the specific expenses relating to the litigation.
   
   
3. The importance of the expenses sought for maintaining the litigation.
   
   
4. The financial need of the individual client or clients and/or the availability of other sources for funds or their lack thereof.
   
   
5. The extent to which a successful     outcome will further the progress of employee rights law in Ohio and  the nation.
   
   
6. The offensive nature of the employer’s actions which are being challenged.
   
   
7. The likelihood of success in the case.
   
   
8. The reasonableness of the request and the purpose of the Fund.
   
   
9. The dollar amount of the request.
   
   
10. The reasonableness of the amount of the request as a percentage of the Fund assets.
    
    
11. The public interest in the matter.
    
    
12. The applicant, who is the attorney and not the plaintiff/employee, must be willing to sign an agreement agreeing to pay back the loan at the conclusion of the litigation if successful either by prevailing in the lawsuit or by obtaining a monetary settlement.

Current Board members should be prohibited from applying for funds.

The criteria are not weighed.  Each of them should be considered by the Board.  The Board reserves the right to grant or reject any application before it.  These criteria are merely guidelines for the Board.  They are not binding upon the Board.

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