Are Law Firm 'Partners' Really 'Employees'?

Law firm management often assumes that some attorneys, such as partners, shareholders and of counsels, are not covered by various civil rights statutes, eg, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). As firms which have been sued by such attorneys or which have faced broad Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigations have learned, however, such assumptions are often not well founded.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently rendered a decision that provides further proof that, depending upon the circumstances, some partners, of counsels and shareholders will be regarded as 'employees' to whom federal employment statutes provide protection. That decision, Clackamas Gastroenterology Associates, P.C. v. Wells, No. 01-1435 (April 22, 2003), was authored by Justice Stevens. Clackamas involved four physicians who were actively engaged in the practice of medicine as owners/shareholders and directors of a professional corporation. The issue was whether they should be counted as 'employees' for purposes of establishing the 15-employee threshold for ADA coverage. A disabled bookkeeper who was terminated by the medical practice argued that the physicians should be counted. If she was right, then the ADA applied. Otherwise, it did not.