Excerpt: Andrew Laurila is starting his 5th year of practicing law and 2nd year at Rasor Law. Since joining the firm in February of 2017, Andrew has been handling civil rights and employment discrimination cases
Andrew Laurila is starting his 5th year of practicing law and 2nd year at Rasor Law. Since joining the firm in February of 2017, Andrew has been handling civil rights and employment discrimination cases, helping Rasor Law clients recover $3.7 million dollars in settlements and trial verdicts.
Many of Andrew’s employment discrimination cases have been against the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC), which consistently discriminates against its employees on the basis of their race, gender, age, disability, and sexual orientation.
Federal and state law protects employees from workplace discrimination, but that protection does not extend to sexual orientation. This has the effect of legalizing workplace discrimination against LBGTQ employees. The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell overturning state-law bans on gay marriage created a situation in Michigan where an employee can legally get married on Saturday and legally fired for doing so on Monday.
This is manifestly unjust, and Andrew is at the forefront of the fight to gain equality in the workplace for LBGTQ employees. In the summer of 2018, Andrew (with help from his brother and Rasor Law clerk/future attorney, Michael) filed a lawsuit against MDOC alleging sexual orientation employment discrimination in violation of federal law, one of the first of its kind in Michigan, with the intention of changing decades of legal precedent permitting LBGTQ discrimination in the workplace. Andrew and Rasor Law anticipate fighting and winning that case in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. This a fight for justice that must be fought and won, and Rasor Law intends to do both.
