Our client Dr. Sherilonda Green prevailed at trial and obtained the original court order which directed the Defendant to assume the cost and directed the E-Discovery company to extract and produce all electronic messages, text and emails, sent between Superintendent Lairsey and Board members amongst others January 1, 2020 to present which pertain to or relate to the topics that included:
* Dr. Sherilonda Green
Sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace are serious issues that can have a devastating impact on victims. It’s important for employers to take proactive steps to prevent these incidents and to provide support for employees who experience them.
First, employers should establish clear policies and procedures for addressing sexual harassment and assault in the workplace. This includes providing training for all employees on what constitutes sexual harassment and assault, how to report incidents, and what steps will be taken to investigate and address reports.
Second, employers should take all reports of sexual harassment and assault seriously and conduct prompt and thorough investigations. This includes providing support for the victim, such as offering counseling services and time off work if needed.
Attorney Julie Oinonen was recently featured on the news featured here regarding her expertise in educator ethics investigations involving the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC) which is the state agency responsible for licensing, certifying, and disciplining educators in Georgia. Among its various functions, one of the PSC’s most important duties is investigating allegations of educator ethical misconduct.
Any individual, including students, parents, colleagues, or administrators, can file a written complaint against an educator for unethical conduct. The PSC’s Investigative Division then conducts a thorough investigation to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to support the allegations of misconduct.
During the investigation, the PSC may interview witnesses, review documents and records, and make site visits. The investigation aims to determine whether the educator violated the state’s code of ethics for educators.
Winning a Georgia Super Lawyer award is a significant accomplishment that only a select few attorneys achieve. In fact, only 5% of attorneys in the state of Georgia are recognized as Super Lawyers. This fact highlights the exceptional skill and dedication required to be named a Super Lawyer.
The selection process for Super Lawyers is rigorous and involves both peer nominations and evaluations, as well as independent research. Attorneys are evaluated based on a variety of factors, including their professional achievements, peer recognition, and community involvement. This process ensures that only the most outstanding attorneys are recognized as Super Lawyers.
Being named a Super Lawyer is not only a personal achievement, but it also reflects on the law firms entire team and the service we are dedicated to providing our clients. It’s a recognition of our firm’s commitment to excellence and the trust that clients have in the firm’s services.
Esther Moody Graff Radford led oral argument with extremely compelling arguments to her brief. The Court ruled from the bench denying summary judgment on all counts and our client will be now proceeding to trial after this victory.
The Georgia Whistleblower’s Act 45-1-4 is a powerful tool for public employees who report illegal activity in the workplace. Under this law, employees who report or testify about such activity are protected from retaliation by their employers. This means that an employer cannot fire, demote, or otherwise punish an employee for speaking up about illegal activity, as long as the employee has a good-faith belief that the activity is occurring.
Attached is an Order for Sanctions we recently won in a case regarding the other side’s conduct in discovery. Discovery is a crucial phase in any litigation, as it allows both parties to obtain information and evidence from each other in order to build their case. However, there are instances where one party may engage in discovery abuse, such as through inappropriate deposition conduct or failure to produce requested electronically stored information (ESI).
In Georgia, discovery abuse can result in sanctions, which can include the payment of attorney fees and expenses, the striking of pleadings, and even dismissal of the case. Sanctions may be imposed when a party engages in misconduct during a deposition, such as harassing or abusive conduct, or when a party fails to comply with the rules governing the production of ESI.
The Charlton County Herald recently featured Dr. Green’s victory in winning her Open Records Act at trial see here for the news story.
The citations below refer to “T” stand for the trial transcript which can be made available upon request:
Dr. Green contends the school district’s motive to withhold Open Records is to cover up systemic discrimination within the District. Evidence of discrimination is replete in the record and includes the following: For the past 136 years of Charlton County School District’s existence, a Black woman has never been hired as a school Principal or Superintendent despite being the District being approximately one-third African American in demographic. (T-197:1-9; T-426:7-16.) The current Chairman of the Board of Education Matt Sands testified that he did not think its problematic that in the 136 years of public-school existence there has never been a Black female that has been hired as a school principal (T-426:9-25; 427:1-11) stating “it’s just the fact that that’s the way it is.” (T-426:13-14.)
The link to the 2022 issue of Super Lawyers 2022 can be found here.
For a eighth year in a row, Julie Oinonen, Managing Partner of Williams Oinonen LLC, was an Honoree for her work in the Georgia legal community this 2022 year and named as a Georgia 2022 Super Lawyer. Only 5 percent of the lawyers in each state are named to Super Lawyers each year.
Ms. Oinonen’s practice encompasses all plaintiff’s side work including wrongful death, employment, civil rights, education, personal injury and business litigation matters. She is an active board member of National Employment Lawyer’s Association of Georgia, a civil rights organization made up of Employment Litigation lawyers who advocate for employee rights. A proud Emory Law alumna, she is on the Alumni Board of Emory Law School, an Executive Committee member of the Emory Inn of Court, and is a faculty instructor at Emory University School of Law’s Trial Techniques program.
A race discrimination case’s new developments were featured on the six o’clock evening news. For more information, you can view this breaking news story here. Ms. Oinonen was quoted stating:
“Race discrimination is a systemic issue facing African American educators all over Georgia who are being subjected to overt and explicit discrimination. In Dr. Madison’s case, he was threatened with lynching and was told that Board members were coming after his job after he spoke out against racial injustice in a positive affirming way. This is illegal for any employer to do against anyone, regardless of their race. Title VII Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating and retaliating against those who speak out against discrimination.
The reality is that Dr. Madison was a well-loved educator who nobly served the school district for decades. He graduated from his hometown school district as a star football athlete and successfully worked his way up to school principal. In fact, a petition signed by numerous educators and employees who worked at that school was submitted to the administration in support of Dr. Madison. It wasn’t until he spoke out against racism that he first encountered retaliation by the District. And that is an illegal violation of the Title VII Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits employers from discriminating and retaliating against workers in Georgia.
Dr. William Leamon Madison alleged race discrimination and retaliation in a lawsuit filed by Williams Oinonen LLC, which was featured on the news here and here and here and here and here and here.
Dr. Madison, former Principal at Colquitt County Schools is alleging race discrimination and retaliation having lost his job after he spoke out against racial injustice in an email to his staff shortly after the murder of George Floyd. The EEOC is concurrently investigating this matter.
Dr. Madison was a hometown hero in Colquitt County, graduating as a star football athlete, then working his way up for nearly two decades from a paraprofessional all the way to Principal. For the past 17 years of his entire career, Dr. Madison received good performance evaluations. All of that changed after Dr. Madison sent an email to his teachers and staff Cox Elementary after the murder of George Floyd. In his email, Dr. Madison encouraged the staff to be supportive of students, as well as speaking out against racial injustice in a positive affirming way. The superintendent summoned Dr. Madison to his office. The superintendent informed Dr. Madison that several school board members were upset at his email and called for his job. Emboldened, a teacher told Dr. Madison, “We’re going to lynch you.” Dr. Madison reported this hate crime to the central office only to be told he could write the teacher up. Three days later, the board decided to terminate Dr. Madison’s employment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in addition to other federal civil rights laws prohibiting race discrimination and retaliation.
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