Background

Sofie is a current employee of Millicent's, a New York fashion house. Sofie is 23 years old, is of Eastern European ancestry, and has a bachelor's degree. She has worked regularly since college.

Ralph is also an employee of Millicent's and is 40 years old. He has a master's degree, immigrated from outside the U.S. and served in his country of origin's army, where he was seriously injured. He has a bit of a checkered criminal past, including acts of dishonesty.

Both Sofie and Ralph report to Alphonso.

Some key information about Millicent's:

- it is a publicly held corporation, listed on theNew York Stock Exchange (NYSE);

- it designs, manufactures and sells clothing in the high fashion segment;

- Millicent's Chairperson of the Board is Millicent Sommer, founder of the company;

- it employs over 40,000 employees globally, who work in corporate offices, manufacturing facilities, and retail stores;

- it operates in over 50 countries.

Sofie filed a lawsuit against Millicent's, her employer, alleging Unequal Pay and Retaliation. For purposes of the Mediation Statement, you work in the legal department and Millicent's is your client.

Materials from Managing Attorney

To: Paul/Pauline Paralegal, Millicent's Fashion House

From: Managing Attorney

Date: May 30, 2015

Re: Need your Assistance: New lawsuit - Sofie

We just received a new lawsuit. Sofie is making charges of Unequal Pay and Retaliation. The key facts in her claim include:

She was hired by the same manager, Alphonso, in the same department, Marketing, during the same year as Ralph.

After 6 months on the job, Sofie requested and was granted a flexible work schedule (Four 10-hour days, with Fridays off).

During her annual review, Sofie discovered that her salary was 25% less than Ralph's salary.

She shared her concerns with their manager, Alphonso.

Sofie alleges that Alphonso told her that it was none of her business and then 2 weeks later, gave her notice that she was no longer permitted to work her flexible schedule, and that effective immediately, she was to be in the office from 8 to 5pm Monday - Friday, no exceptions.

Sofie subsequently filed a lawsuit for unequal pay and retaliation based on the foregoing.

I briefly reviewed the charge and interviewed Alfonso (the manager whose conduct is being challenged). The notes of the interview are attached.

We received notice that the case is scheduled for Mediation in two weeks.

I'd like you to open a file on this matter, handle the preliminary stages of the matter preparing a first draft of our mediation statement for my review.

Attorney/Client Privileged - Notes from Attorney Interview w/ Alphonso

1. When was your first notice of Sofie's lawsuit?

a. Alphonso: Officially, today, but it makes sense, she has not been happy with me since her

review.

2. When did you hire Sofie?

a. Alphonso: January 2011.

3. What position did you hire Sofie to fulfill?

a. Alphonso: Marketing manager - NY Fashion Week, an industry publication.

4. Did you use company compensation guidelines when you determined Sofie's starting salary?

a. Alphonso: Yes, although Sofie didn't meet the educational requirement of the job description, but we hired her for her experience with D&Z Fashion House.

5. When did you hire Ralph?

a. Alphonso: January 2011

6. Did you use company compensation guidelines when you determined Ralph's starting salary?

a. Alphonso: Yes.

7. What factors led to your decision to offer Ralph a higher salary than Sofie?

a. Alphonso: I never really thought of it that way. Ralph had his Masters in Fashion Design as the job description required. And, you know, he is a family man now, his wife just had their first

child.

8. When Sofie shared her concerns with you, do you recall the details of your conversation?

a. Alphonso: I remember asking her the source of her information, at which point she ended the conversation. I didn't seek her out after that, thought it would blow over.

9. What actions did you take after Sofie shared her concerns with you?

a. Alphonso: Like I said, I didn't bring it up again, so I didn't do nything really.

b. Attorney: What of her allegation that you ended her flexible work schedule?

c. Alphonso: Oh that, just bad timing, I suppose. We just couldn't find another day for our team

meetings. It had to be Fridays and we really all need to be together in a room to be most

effective.

10. Is there anything else you want to tell me?

a. Alphonso: Probably not, this type of thing is such a pain, very distracting, I'd like to focus on fashion, not these types of frivolous complaints. Ralph never complains like this. If I could just clone Ralph, this place would run a lot smoother.

Draft of a Mediation Statement ?