Congress Bumped Up Workplace Protections for Pregnant and Nursing Employees
By Amy Epstein Gluck | | General Employer Guidance, Parent Category, Pregnancy Discrimination, Sex Discrimination
As 2022 wound down, federal legislators passed two new workplace laws: the Pregnancy Fairness Workers Act (PFWA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) Act. Employers may wonder about the necessity of the PFWA when employers (with more than 15 employees) must follow the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). Similarly, what additional protections does the PUMP Act…
Read More One Mama's Memo: Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Retaliation Policies Must Be Enforced To Be Effective
By Amy Epstein Gluck | | Discrimination in the Workplace, EEOC, Retaliation, Sex Discrimination
By: Amy Epstein Gluck Your anti-discrimination, -harassment, and -retaliation policies must be enforced to be effective. It’s likely that this is no news flash, but in practice, people tend to forget. Case in point: yet another public memo to a household name company demonstrating that all that glitters may not be gold. What am I…
Read More Iron Throne or Boardroom—Leadership Matters
By Amy Epstein Gluck | | Accommodation of Disabilities, Discrimination in the Workplace, EEOC, Sex Discrimination
By: Amy Epstein Gluck Who will rule Westeros? Or, in employment-speak, who will become the CEO of Westeros? So, I love Game of Thrones. I really love it, and the last two years have been kind of brutal waiting for the start of the very last season. But it’s here, and it’s tonight. TONIGHT. And this…
Read More Another fish shot in a barrel by the EEOC!
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
Chalk up another fish shot in a barrel by the EEOC. Another low hanging fruit plucked! To anyone who reads this blog, you know that I keep track of the cases in which the EEOC zeros in on health care providers who allegedly violate the Americans With Disabilities Act or The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of…
Read More Pregnant Bartender Will Not Wear Hot Pants? Fired!
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
Another pregnancy discrimination lawsuit in the news. Seems like I’m writing this every day. A sports bar in Texas just settled with the EEOC for $24,000 in a Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”) lawsuit. What did they supposedly do? Well, it seems that a bartender who became pregnant began wearing capri pants “and added a second…
Read More EEOC Picks Some Low Hanging Fruit (Again)
By Richard Cohen | | Discrimination in the Workplace
Once again, the EEOC has nailed a health care provider for alleged violations of either the ADA or the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). The EEOC charged that a large, non-profit healthcare company promoted a less qualified male employee to a managerial position which could have gone to an employee who had previously taken maternity leave. In…
Read More You Have Too Many Children: If You Get Pregnant You’re Fired!
By Richard Cohen | | Discrimination in the Workplace
Yes, this is exactly what a California wholesale distributer of orchids told female employees at staff meetings, according to a new EEOC lawsuit. And more. The employees were also told “not to get pregnant, that they have too many children, and the next person to get pregnant should stay home and consider herself fired.” And,…
Read More Paternalism And Pregnant Employees: A Bad Idea
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
Pregnancy discrimination in employment is against the law. This is true even if an employer claims to have the best interests of the employee in mind. This is, in fact, the classic example of paternalism – and employers must resist that notion. It is illegal. To underscore this, the EEOC just sued a Florida corporation…
Read More I’m A F….ing Idiot To Let A Pregnant Girl Work Behind The Bar
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
Myth, fears and outdated paternalistic notions about pregnancy still top the charts for scrutiny by the EEOC. I have often cited the EEOC’s six national priorities set forth in its Strategic Enforcement Plan (“SEP”). One such priority is “to address emerging and developing issues … including issues involving the ADA and pregnancy-related limitations.” In this regard,…
Read More New: NYC Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
The New York City Commission on Human Rights just announced the publication of its “Legal Enforcement Guidance on Discrimination on the Basis of Pregnancy: Local Law No. 78 (2013); N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-107(22),” which is a must-read for NYC employers. It sets out what is considered pregnancy discrimination under NYC law – which is must…
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.
