Languages

• Spanish

Law Firm Overview

Carmen R. Matos, Esquire, specializes in employment law, representing employees and employers in employment discrimination and civil rights cases.  Mrs. Matos, a graduate of Temple University School of Law, has 25 years of experience, 15 years with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as a trial and supervising attorney.  Since 1995, she has been in private practice in employment law.   Her most recent victory in the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, is the age discrimination case of Steward v Sears, Roebuck & Co. 231 Fed. Appx. 201, 2007 US App. Lexis 19365 (August 14, 2007). In Steward, Mrs. Matos successfully argued to the Third Circuit that the district judge erred in granting judgment to the defendant after an eight day jury trial resulted in a verdict for her client in the amount of $240,095.  In this important case, Mrs. Matos convinced the Court that the court does not have to average the ages of remaining employees to determine what is a significant age difference to establish the prima facie case, but rather consider all the circumstances. In October 2005, Mrs. Matos obtained a jury verdict of  $200,000 in the case of Ridley v. Costco Wholesale Foods Corp. (race and reprisal discrimination), upheld by the Third Circuit in 2007, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 2493. Ms. Matos is known for her expertise in age discrimination.  In O'Neill v. Sears, 108 F.Supp. 2d 433 (E.D. PA. 2000), Ms. Matos obtained a jury verdict of $519,068 plus $143,000 in attorney fees.  She successfully convinced the court to grant an additional amount of damages ($38,000) to her client for negative tax consequences. In Becker v. ARCO, 15 F.Supp.2d 600 (E.D. PA 1998), Ms. Matos obtained a settlement of $600,000 for a chemist who worked for ARCO for 24 years.  While at the EEOC, Ms. Matos settled the case of EEOC v. Kaiser Aluminum for $1.6 million for 46 older employees who claimed age discrimination.  Ms. Matos received the Chairman's Award from Chairman Clarence Thomas, now Justice Thomas, USSC in 1988.  Ms. Matos conducts training on various employment discrimination issues. For example, for several years, she trained the Trainers at the Supreme Court of NJ in management liability for sexual harassment. She also trained managers in private companies on employment issues.  Ms. Matos published articles on employment law in the Legal Intelligencer.  Some of these include "The Many Faces of Sexual Harassment," "The Civil Rights Act of 1991,"  "Recent Developments in Age Discrimination," "Recent Developments in ADA Cases," and others.  She frequently conducts employment bar seminars for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. Ms. Matos investigates cases of sexual harassment. The EEOC certified Ms. Matos as a Mediator upon completion of training and has been a mediator from 1998 to the present. She is involved in the Montgomery County Bar Association, Hispanic Bar Association, American Bar Association, National Employment Lawyers Association, Philadelphia Bar Association, Association of Trial Lawyers and Girl Scouts. She is fluent in Spanish, having obtained a Master of Arts in Spanish and Latin American Literature. Alternate phone number is 609-558-9436.

Areas of Practice

• Age Discrimination
• National Origin Discrimination
• Race Discrimination
• Sexual Harassment
• Americans with Disabilities Act - - Employee
• Employment Contracts - - Employee
• Reprisal
• Sex Discrimination
• Wrongful Termination
• Personal Injury
• Defamation
• Religious discrimination
• Federal Sector employees
• Management Representation
• Mediation of employment disputes
• Arbitration of employment disputes
• Unemployment Compensation
• Appellate Representation

Representative Cases

• Gunnar Steward v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 312 F.Supp.2d 719 (E.D. Pa. 2004)
• Danita Kent Byrd and EEOC v. Wyeth Pharmaceutical, 2004 U.S. Dist. Lexis 4382 (E.D. Pa. 2004)
• Willie Carter v. Potter, U.S. Postal Service, 2004 U.S. Dist. Lexis 25677
• John Doe v. Kohn, Nast & Graf, 862 F. Supp. 1310 (E.D. Pa. 1994)
• John Doe v. Kohn, Nast & Graf, 853 F. Supp. 150 (E.D. Pa. 1994)
• James Shovlin v. TimeMed, 1997 U.S. Dist. Lexis 248 (E.D. Pa. 1997)
• Richard P. O'Neill v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 108 F. Supp. 2d 433 (E.D. Pa. 2000)
• Richard P. O'Neill v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 108 F. Supp. 2d 443 (E.D. Pa. 2000)
• William P. Becker v. ARCO Chemical Corp., 15 F.Supp.2d 621 (E.D. Pa. 1997)
• Denise E. Heap v. ICM America LLC, et al., 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16418 (E.D. Pa. 2000)
• Ridley v. Costco Inc., 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23276 (E.D. Pa. 2005)
• Ridley v Costco Inc, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 2493 (Third Circuit Court of Appeals 2007)

West Practice Categories

Administrative Hearings & Adjudication, Administrative Investigations, Civil Rights, Age Discrimination, Disability & Illness Discrimination, Gay & Lesbian Rights, National Origin Discrimination, Race Discrimination, Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Affirmative Action -- Employee, Americans with Disabilities Act -- Employee, Employee Rights -- Employee, Employment Contracts -- Employee, Employment Discrimination -- Employee, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) -- Employee, Federal Employer's Liability Act (FELA) -- Employee, Municipal Employment -- Employee, Sexual Harassment -- Employee, Wage & Hour Laws -- Employee, Whistleblower -- Employee, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act -- Employee, Wrongful Termination -- Employee, Americans with Disabilities Act -- Employer, Employee Rights -- Employer, Employment Contracts -- Employer, Employment Discrimination -- Employer, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) -- Employer, Sexual Harassment -- Employer, Wage & Hour Laws -- Employer, Whistleblower -- Employer, Wrongful Termination -- Employer, Wills, Law Enforcement Agencies, Labor Disputes, Wage & Hour Laws, Federal Appellate Practice, Federal Trial Practice, Assault & Battery -- Plaintiff, Defamation & Privacy -- Plaintiff, Motor Vehicle Accidents -- Plaintiff, Premises Liability -- Plaintiff, Property Damage -- Plaintiff, Slip and Fall -- Plaintiff