I am helping my sister with an appeal in mississippi court because she is disputing a lien placed on her home by mississippi department of employment in an attempt to recover unemployment money paid to her.

I have several issues but the first is regarding nepositm - - does a non state employer who employs over 20 employees have to adhere to any state laws regarding nepotism? My sister was replaced by a relative of one of the board members of her employer after Hurricane Katrina nearly destroyed the place of business.

Another question regarding filing in forma pauperis - - can my sister file in forma pauperis in a civil matter in Mississippi? I have heard this can only be done in criminal matters in Mississippi.

Facts of the matter: my sister was extremely overworked and stressed working at a restaurant in Miss. She had repeatedly asked for help, sometimes working overtime and not being compensated. She finally gave her letter of resignation (the week before Hurricane Katrina struck), her employer begged her to reconsider, told her he would not accept her resignation but told her to take a week off and think about it, and when she comes back decide if she still wants to quit. (All of these facts are documented in a recorded statement taken by miss. dept of employment) The Monday she was due to return to work she was evacuated from her city due to Hurricane Katrina - - she was evacuated for 1 week and unable to contact her employer, finally reaching him and coming to an agreement that she would return that next week. When she returned to work, the issue of clean-up was at hand and the issue of the non accepted resignation never presented itself. She worked for 3 days cleaning the restaurant and on the third day she was told that she was being replaced when the restaurant reopened by a relative of one of the board members. She filed for unemployment, received it for several months, then it was terminated when the employer said she "quit" - - hearings were conducted by Miss. dept of employment and they ruled in favor of the employer. Put a lien on my sister's home and now she is appealing to her circuit court. The clerk of court has informed us that no one ever wins against miss. dept. of employment, shouldn't waste our time appealing.

Any new laws regarding Hurricane Katrina evacuees? Does this case have merit? Any lawyers in southern Mississippi looking to fill their pro bono requirements with a case of this nature?

Thanks!
Desparately wanting to help my sister!

The answer to your first question is no. There are no laws in any state that govern nepotism issues for private employers.

I can't answer your second question. To the best of my knowledge we have no Mississippi lawyers following these boards. In any case, reputable lawyers do not troll message boards looking for clients and for liability reasons, direct referrals are not permitted here.

I'm not overlooking the possibility that someone may have some knowledge that will help you, but I would not be relying on this board for your final answer. :)

I also cannot answer your second question, but I have never heard a state where in forma pauperis is permissible only in criminal matters, especially relative to the complaint/petition sought in this matter.

If the facts you presented are accurate, of course this is a case worth pursuing. Your sister did not quit, but rather was discharged for reasons other than misconduct. The decision of the ALJ would be helpful. Did she file a timely appeal to the Board of Review? If so, what if anything substantive, did the Board issue?

Rather than trolling this or other such sites for legal counsel to work pro bono, I suggest you contact local or state bar associations. Most, if not all, states have legal aid firms that exist to represent for free persons exactly like your sister in exactly these matters.

to RJS:

Mississippi is/was a state where in forma pauperis is only allowed in criminal matters. I did some research trying to see if this was changed in recent years and I was able to find a case that went to the supreme court challenging this issue, it was only ruled that in forma pauperis would in addition be allowed in cases involving family matters, i.e. a mother trying to regain custody of her children taken by the state. So far I do not think that in forma pauperis is involved in any civil cases other than the ones involving family matters.

She did everything timely within the in-house Miss. Dept of Employment litigation but they ruled in favor of the employer (despite transcribed recorded statements that the employer did NOT accept her resignation and her employer admitting that he let her work for 3 days before he told her she was being replaced), she appealed to the circuit court of Miss. Her appeal is due tomorrow and since I work for a lawfirm in Louisiana, I was able to help her draft a motion for extension which was filed yesterday and we hope will be signed soon. She is still trying to find an attorney to take this pro bono because she remains unemployed and has limited funds. If worse comes to worse I am going to the court with her in Miss. and pull some similiar cases and draft her a brief similiar to one I may find with similiar circumstances and pray that I can find something on westlaw that will help support that argument, if not now then by the time we file the rebuttal brief. Although I have been told by the clerk that nobody has ever won against Miss. Dept. of Employment, EVER....!!!!

I e-mailed several attorneys through martindale hubbel but I am finding that there are not many attorneys in her area that are knowledgeable in this field. I have yet to contact the state bar association but that is my next step. I am trying to cover all my bases here and get as much info as I can since we are not sure she will be able to find an attorney and I may have to try and do it for her myself.

I won't, because I can't dispute, your claim regarding whether or not a party can proceed in forma pauperis in a civil action in MS courts.

I will state that I find it impossible to believe that the MESC is undefeated in court actions. I am very certain that of I had the time and opportunity ti conduct a cursory search of MS Supreme Court decisions I would find more than one that overturned a ruling of the MESC.

Nevertheless, most importantly I found the following that may be of assistance to your sister:

http://www.mslegalservices.org/MS/StateChannelResults.cfm/County/%20/City/%20/demoMode/%3D%201/Language/1/State/MS/TextOnly/N/ZipCode/%20/LoggedIn/0/ilawyerprofileid/31853/iTopicID/652/sTopicImage/g%2Dbenefits%2Egif/iSubTopicID/1/iProblemCodeID/1760000/directory/1

Best of luck to her.

I will state that I find it impossible to believe that the MESC is undefeated in court actions. I am very certain that of I had the time and opportunity ti conduct a cursory search of MS Supreme Court decisions I would find more than one that overturned a ruling of the MESC

This suit is actually invovling MDES and not MESC - - not sure what the difference is though. Thanks for the info, I will definitely pass it on to her.

It used to be called the Employment Security Commission (MESC) and I was unaware that the name changed to Department of Employment Security (MDES).

But there is no difference.