Kitchin represents employees whose civil rights have been violated on the job. Under California and Federal law, employees have the right to work in environments free from discrimination and harassment based on race, national origin, sex, sexual orientation or disability status.

Recently, the United States Supreme Court issued an important decision expanding employee’s rights to seek legal redress for violations of Title IX, which prohibits discriminatory conduct by employers.

In Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education (decided March 29, 2005), the U.S. Supreme Court made it illegal for an employer to retaliate against an employee who complains about any acts of illegal discrimination in the workplace. Even if the discrimination is aimed at others, each person has a right to challenge discrimination in the workplace. Prior to this decision, it was unclear whether a person who is fired or mistreated after complaining about discrimination in the workplace against co-employees had the right to sue for subsequent mistreatment by the employer. This is an important case for all employees who are concerned about equal rights.

WAGE AND HOUR LITIGATION

Under California and Federal law, employers are required to pay their employees fairly and timely. Kitchin represents employees in lawsuits against their current and former employers who failed to abide by these laws.

Minimum wage laws establish how much an employee must be paid. Overtime laws establish when an employer must pay premium wages to its employees. Other wage compensation laws establish an employee’s right to rest and meal breaks and to the timely payment of wages. Still other employment laws establish the employers’ obligation to maintain accurate time and payroll records on each employee. California wage and hour law is designed to protect an employee’s right to wages for work he or she performed and to provide guidelines for the safe and ethical treatment of employees.

Kitchin serves as co-lead counsel in wage and hour class actions against several nation-wide companies, including Polo Ralph Lauren, The Gap, Banana Republic, and Chico’s. Several of these cases involve claims that these clothing retailers illegally required their employees to purchase company-brand clothing to wear as work uniforms. Under Kitchin’s lead, settlements have been achieved in each of these cases, resulting in compensation for over 60,000 individuals across California.

PERSONAL INJURY LITIGATION

When a person is injured by the negligent or intentional conduct of someone else, that injured person is entitled to fair and just compensation for his or her injuries. For more than a decade, Patrick Kitchin has been involved in the prosecution of personal injury cases involving serious and catastrophic injuries and has an established record of success. Unlike most personal injury attorneys, Patrick Kitchin has substantial experience both prosecuting and defending personal injury cases. Kitchin’s experience makes him ideally suited to understand the tactics of his adversaries throughout the litigation process.

Kitchin generally represents injured persons on a contingency fee bases, advancing all litigation costs and earning fees only when he is able to recover damages.

Product manufacturers and distributors are required by law to make their products safe for the public. Yet, according to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, consumer products injure over 29 million people in the United States every year.

Since 1992, Patrick Kitchin has prosecuted and defended cases involving defective products, including automobiles, power tools, drugs and medical devices, wheelchairs, elevators, escalators, scaffolds and various durable consumer products. Kitchin’s experience working for both manufacturers and consumers makes him ideally suited to handle product liability cases for injured consumers.

Companies, both small and large, become involved in civil litigation when they fail to understand and abide by the complex laws governing the ethical conduct of business. For over ten years, Patrick Kitchin has been actively involved in business litigation involving claims of trade disparagement, slander and libel, breach of contract, theft, breach of fiduciary duties and fraud. Many of these cases have involved claims valued in the millions of dollars.

Many civil wrongs affect large numbers of people in similar ways. Illegal employment practices can affect tens of thousands of workers. Defective consumer products can also injure thousands of consumers. And, unlawful business practices, such as consumer fraud, can have a detrimental impact on a large group of people. The class action process provides a means of seeking damages on behalf of a large group of people whose claims are similar and who may have suffered only minor damages themselves.

It only takes one person to make a difference.

A single person generally serves as the class representative for a large group of people who have suffered similar injuries as a result of wrongful conduct of a company.

Patrick Kitchin has designed an efficient system for the enforcement of judgments against both individual and company judgment debtors. While obtaining a judgment is a significant victory, it is virtually meaningless unless the money owned under the judgment is collected.

Patrick Kitchin has the investigation resources available that are required to turn your uncollected judgment into cash.