What Does the EEOC Do Anyway? Oh, And It Issued Its New Compliance Manual on Religious Discrimination
By Amy Epstein Gluck | | Uncategorized
Yesterday, January 15, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) approved revisions to EEOC’s Compliance Manual Section on Religious Discrimination (“Manual”). I’ve fielded some questions lately about the EEOC, so I wanted to clarify for employers what the EEOC does and does not do: The EEOC is not a court. The EEOC does not make…
Read More A Noose In The Workplace? Still?
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
Even in the midst of a great societal upheaval regarding racial discrimination and harassment, cases of workplace harassment continue unabated. I guess it is unsurprising, albeit unfortunate, given that the workplace is riven with the same issues as society at large, and, indeed, is simply a microcosm of society at large. I’ve written so much…
Read More A Harasser for All Seasons
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
Now here’s a manager who seemingly has no issue with harassing women, African Americans and foreign-born employees. And now the company, an Ithaca, N.Y. manufacturer, is settling the EEOC’s case which alleged sex, race and national origin discrimination, for $93,000. Nothing seemed beneath him: as the EEOC claimed, a noose for the only black employee (a…
Read More “When Is It Time To Take Granddad’s Car Keys Away?” A Tough Workplace Discussion
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
We are living longer. And working longer. This is good. And our culture and laws prohibit age discrimination in the workplace. This is also good. However, as an adjunct to that, we must deal with something that no prior generation has had to deal with (at least not as much): “when is it time to take…
Read More No "N-Word," But A Noose: Brevity Is The Soul Of Witlessness
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
Two racial harassment cases were just settled by the EEOC and the only thing of real note to me is that the N-word apparently was not used. This is an exception in these cases, of course. Racial animus still rears its ugly head in the workplace, as these cases evidence. I try to post about every…
Read More I'll Be An EEOC Panelist In Philly on 8/20
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
I was very pleased to be invited by the EEOC to be a panelist in Philadelphia on August 20th at the EEOC Training Institute being conducted for HR people! Click this link from the EEOC for more info. The general topic for my panel is “The Future of HR is Today!” Hope to see you there…
Read More Black Hair Was “Dreadful” – But New Laws Are Changing All That
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
In an ATL post in early 2018 I mentioned an article in The New York Times which said that “America has always had trouble with black hair,” and that “[t]he bias against black hair is as old as America itself. … [in the 18th century] British colonists classified African hair as closer to sheep wool…
Read More One more time: you must seek a reasonable accommodation for employees who have disabilities or who are pregnant
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
A couple of useful takeaways from this latest settlement of a “low hanging fruit” EEOC lawsuit. The EEOC announced that a large health network which owned and operated three Arizona hospitals agreed to pay $545,000 to settle … yes, you guessed it! – a lawsuit which alleged discrimination against employees with disabilities and pregnant women…
Read More Color-Changing Wrist Bands and "Panic Buttons” – Can They Defend Against Sexual Harassment?
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
Two years ago I wrote that sexual harassers need not be co-employees or managers of a harassed employee. They can be outside vendors, clients, customers etc. The point is not who is doing the harassing, but if a hostile work environment has been created which the employer must remedy. At that time a news item…
Read More If You Read This Blog You Can Probably Make A Good Guess As To What the Racial Epithet Was
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
The EEOC just sued a large health organization for alleged racial harassment and retaliation against African American employees in its California facility, contending that “such harassment was perpetrated by co-workers, supervisors, and managers, and included daily use of racial epithets, degrading racial comments and racially derogatory graffiti.” The EEOC, uncharacteristically, did not say what the racial epithets…
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.
