“Beauty Bias” – Should Looks Be A Protected Category?
By Richard Cohen |
I thought about “beauty bias” or “lookism” this morning, topics which I have written a lot about with respect to employment discrimination, when I read a thought provoking essay in the New York Times today entitled “Being Dishonest About Ugliness.” Julia Baird writes that “Adults often tangle themselves in knots when discussing physical appearance with children.…
Read More Disability Discrimination In Employment: New Study
By Richard Cohen |
An article in today’s New York Times reports on a significant study from Rutgers and Syracuse U. which found a shockingly high rate of employment discrimination based upon disability – especially in companies not covered by the ADA. One professor called the study “the first serious attempt to do this kind of experiment on disability discrimination…
Read More Class Actions: A New Book And Book Review
By Richard Cohen |
Every now and then a book about comes along – or at least a book review about the book – that it deserves discussion in a blog. This is true about U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff’s review in the latest issue of The New York Review of Books of a book authored by Columbia securities…
Read More Mark of the Beast v. Biometric Scanning
By Richard Cohen |
Well, I guess a little timely research now and then can’t hurt. Mea culpa. I wrote last week about religious discrimination and accommodations, and highlighted two “Mark of the Beast” cases. One was denied review by the Supreme Court, and I said about the other that “as far as I know the case is still…
Read More Is Weight Bias A Valid Employment Discrimination Claim?
By Richard Cohen |
Should weight be a protected class? How about looks? Is there a bias in the workplace against people who are “overweight?” A newly-filed lawsuit presents us the opportunity to discuss the issue of weight discrimination. Only one state – Michigan – outlaws weight discrimination in employment (as do a small number of municipalities). According to CBS/Detroit, a…
Read More New York To Extend Human Right Law To Cover Gender Identity, Transgender Status And Gender Dysphoria
By Richard Cohen |
The New York Times reports today that New York’s Governor Cuomo has announced that he would “direct the State Division of Human Rights to issue regulations that extend protections against discrimination found in a 1945 law [NYS Human Rights Law] to cover gender identity, transgender status and gender dysphoria.” The protections in these regulations would extend to,…
Read More Can't Find a Job at 50? Is it Ageism Or Just Your Own Fault?
By Richard Cohen |
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about an article in the New York Times entitled “To Get A Job At 50, Make Lots Of Friends In Your 40s.” It discussed a new academic study which concluded – surprise! – that people over 50 have a harder and longer time finding work than their younger…
Read More The Mark Of The Beast Meets The Internal Revenue Code
By Richard Cohen |
Religious discrimination cases are dominating headlines – indeed, we are in a period right now where religious rights are frequently being weighed and balanced against other rights, including of course, employers’ rights, in an effort to accommodate religious beliefs — a societal and legal priority. I have often written about what used to be a Title VII…
Read More What Is A “Vulnerable” Worker? The EEOC Has The Answer For Employers
By Richard Cohen |
Protecting “vulnerable” workers is an EEOC priority. An EEOC press release stated that “Combating discrimination against agricultural workers falls within one of the priorities under the EEOC’s Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP): protecting immigrant, migrant and other vulnerable workers.” Workers are “vulnerable” to discrimination and harassment for many reasons and in many situation, mostly evidenced by their…
Read More Hospitals And The ADA: EEOC Playing PR Game To Perfection
By Richard Cohen |
Emory University Hospital in Atlanta was just sued by the EEOC under the ADA for denying an employee a two-week leave extension after he had emergency surgery. An EEOC attorney said: “One would expect that a hospital, of all places, would show understanding and fairness toward an employee who had recently had emergency surgery.” No…
Read More 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.
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.
