Waitresses: Vulnerable To Sexual Harassment
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
Those who harass vulnerable workers are on the EEOC’s radar. Not a surprise: this is one of the EEOC’s announced priorities. And who are “vulnerable workers?” The EEOC just announced (like yesterday) a $70,00 settlement with a Florida restaurant franchise. It was alleged that the owner and manager sexually harassed female employees through unwelcome touching, stalking, and sexual comments.…
Read More News Flash—Simulating Sex Acts In The Workplace May Lead To Liability
By Amy Epstein Gluck | | Abuse in the Workplace, Discrimination in the Workplace, Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment
By: Amy Epstein Gluck I’ve been grappling recently with various scenarios I consider to be “grey areas” as to the presence of a hostile work environment. A somewhat creepy message. Asking out an intern alone. Showing vacation photos while on the beach without a shirt. Taken together, the conduct might rise to the level of “pervasive,”…
Read More Don’t Panic! We Have A Button For You!
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
Well, another panic button law was just passed – this time in New Jersey. The first state to pass such a law! Just a few weeks ago I posted about a union local in Seattle representing 5,000 hotel and hospitality workers, which reacted to guests sexually harassing room cleaning and room service staff and pushed for and got enacted…
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 A Steak, Medium-Rare, With Sides of Sexual Harassment and Retaliation
By Amy Epstein Gluck | | Abuse in the Workplace, Discrimination in the Workplace, EEOC, Retaliation, Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment
By: Amy Epstein Gluck I read yesterday that two current lawsuits claim that a celebrated steakhouse sustains a culture of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. In one of the two cases, a female server alleged that a regular customer grabbed her from behind and “placed his hand beneath her crotch and in between her thighs”…
Read More A Federal Jury Sends a Message in the #MeToo Era
By Amy Epstein Gluck | | Abuse in the Workplace, Discrimination in the Workplace, EEOC, Sexual Harassment
By: Amy Epstein Gluck #MeToo is real. That is, #MeToo as a movement or an era or even a concept applies to real people of all backgrounds, to blue collar as well as white collar workers. One thing I know for sure—no one sets out desiring to be in the #MeToo club. In fact, I’d…
Read More Sexual Harassment Can Happen … Anywhere
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
“I am always surprised that some people think that workplace sexual harassment occurs only in certain types of businesses or workplaces. But we know that workplace sexual harassment can happen anywhere, anytime, and to anyone – there is no exempt place or person. Of course, compliant and savvy employers can minimize the chances of it…
Read More Workplace Bullying: Who Is Vulnerable?
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
I just wrote about workplace bullying in my weekly Above The Law column, and focused on what type of workplaces foster bullying – and who is “vulnerable.” It begins: “The workplace is like a second household, and your colleagues can be like a second family. But families are often dysfunctional – and we know that harassment…
Read More Smacks On The Butt And Sexist Jokes Or Innuendo: The Workplace Of A Server
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
News item from Canada: an academic study has found that “Female servers have to put up with a lot of sexual harassment on the job.” The study “found low wages and a dependence on tips makes some female servers more vulnerable to sexual harassment from customers and colleagues.” Unfortunately, no surprise, but lets focus in on “vulnerable”…
Read More EEOC Sues In Apparent Sharecropper Abuse Case
By Richard Cohen | | Uncategorized
A heartwarming story just in time for Thanksgiving. Its a case about the abuses of sharecropping – or at least its more modern manifestation, which looks pretty much the same. Wait — that went out years ago – right? Not quite. The EEOC just sued an Alabama temporary staffing firm alleging that the Hispanic workers…
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.
