Supervisor: “Being Gay Is A Mental Disorder.” Such Comments Do Not Bode Well For An Employer’s Motion for Summary Judgment
By Amy Epstein Gluck |
Since June, federal law protects employees from discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This means that an employer, supervisor, or co-worker may not discriminate or harass an employee because he is gay or is gender non-conforming. If an employee appears to be man, but does not identify as one, that’s his…
Read More SCOTUS: Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation or Transgender Status is Sex Discrimination And Violates Federal Law
By Amy Epstein Gluck |
By: Amy Epstein Gluck An employer who fires or takes an adverse action against an individual merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”). So said the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) on June 15, 2020, a little more than eight months after…
Read More How To Prevent Sexual Harassment In Your Restaurants, Bars, and Stores
By Amy Epstein Gluck |
By: Amy Epstein Gluck As we continue to counsel clients large and small about how to prevent sexual harassment in this #MeToo era, I recently read about this project, “Not on the Menu,” the brain child of one restaurant owner and her staff during a problem-solving meeting after a customer put his hand up one…
Read More EEOC to Employers: Ignore Harassment Complaints Based on LGBTQ Status At Your Peril
By Amy Epstein Gluck |
By: Amy Epstein Gluck The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently entered into a consent decree with a Tex-Mex restaurant in Gainesville, Virginia (up to an hour from the DMV—without traffic) settling a lawsuit alleging that restaurant employees, including other servers and kitchen staff, subjected a gay male server to “unwelcome harassing and offensive behavior” that…
Read More LGBTQ Employees Face A Double Stigma
By Amy Epstein Gluck |
By: Amy Epstein Gluck Last year, when I wrote about destigmatizing mental health issues, I informed you that one in four adults in the U.S. suffer from some type of mental disability. When we talked about sexual harassment being an epidemic—and this was pre-Weinstein!—I mentioned EEOC-reported testimony that one in four women face harassment in the workplace. Well, guess…
Read More Diversity & Inclusion: Making More Than Cosmetic Changes
By Amy Epstein Gluck |
By: Amy Epstein Gluck One of my favorite cosmetics retailer closed all of its US-based stores today for diversity and inclusion training. The focus? What it means to be a diverse and inclusive workplace. In addition to the one-hour store closures today, the company said it would close its distribution centers and corporate headquarters for trainings…
Read More What's All The Fuss? SCOTUS (Finally) Considers Whether Adverse Decisions Against LGBT Employees Constitute Sex Discrimination In Violation of Title VII
By Amy Epstein Gluck |
By: Amy Epstein Gluck With this post, I join the multitude of bloggers writing about the historical announcement yesterday that the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) will hear and decide a series of cases this fall to determine whether the federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of “sex,” Title VII of the Civil…
Read More Hey 2019, How Is Corporate America Doing With LGBT Policies?
By Amy Epstein Gluck |
By: Amy Epstein Gluck The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation gives us some indicator to answer this question. Last week, the HRC released its 2019 Corporate Equality Index report— a national benchmarking tool on corporate policies and practices related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality. Some results are as follows: 571 US companies and law…
Read More You Should Dress More Gender Appropriate
By Amy Epstein Gluck |
By: Amy Epstein Gluck The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is taking on Chili’s. No, it’s not because a server added to salt to a margarita when a customer specifically asked for no salt (this happens to me a lot), and it’s not because there were not enough jalapeños on the nachos. Rather, the ACLU…
Read More Diversity and Inclusion: Best Response To Increased Sexual Harassment
By Amy Epstein Gluck |
By: Amy Epstein Gluck On Halloween, I intend to head down to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for a public meeting titled “Revamping Workplace Culture to Prevent Harassment” with EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum. I plan on adding my 2 cents. Why? Well, I’ll tell you. Earlier this month, the EEOC released preliminary data for this year reporting…
Read More RICHARD COHEN
Richard Cohen has litigated and arbitrated complex corporate, commercial and employment disputes for more than 35 years, and is a trusted advisor to business owners and in-house counsel both in the United States and internationally. His clients have included Fortune 100 companies, domestic and foreign commercial and investment banks, Pacific-rim corporations and real estate development companies, as well as start-up businesses throughout the United States.
AMY EPSTEIN GLUCK
Amy Epstein Gluck has represented individuals and corporate clients in Virginia, Washington, D.C., and various federal district courts for more than twenty years. Ms. Epstein Gluck’s current practice areas include employment law—advising on and drafting employment agreements; handling employment negotiations, severance agreements, noncompete and nondisclosure agreements, “wrongful terminations” and other EEO matters; representation at the EEOC level; advising employers about discrimination laws and how to remain in compliance, and employment negotiations.
