Menaka N. Fernando

Years of determined activism on behalf of pregnant and breastfeeding working women culminated in a major victory in December with the passage of two long-sought pieces of federal legislation. 

Workplace relationships and interactions come in many forms. So do acts of workplace discrimination and harassment. Often, prohibited or wrongful conduct occurs outside of the traditional employer-employee relationship or between colleagues. In the “gig economy,” independent contractors can and do face the same degrading, humiliating, and potentially illegal misconduct as employees. Similarly, individuals can be victimized by others during their careers, such as a performer sexually harassed by a casting director or a rideshare driver subject to repeated racial slurs by customers.

Whether it happens to a child on a playground or an adult in the workplace, bullying is always harmful, always wrong, and never acceptable. Taunts, teasing, threats, or intimidation are all examples of abusive behavior that can constitute bullying. Sadly, more and more American workers are subjected to workplace bullying by superiors, colleagues, and others. A 2021 survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute found that 30% of American adults reported being bullied at work (including remote work), while an additional 19% observed bullying in their workplace. That translates into 76.3 million American workers directly impacted by workplace bullying.

None of us are defined by a single trait or characteristic, and many individuals share more than one class of traits that may make them targets of legally prohibited discrimination or harassment. Indeed, as the #MeToo Movement has reminded us, perpetrators of sexual harassment may be more likely to target individuals with multiple protected traits, including people with disabilities and people of color, for abuse.

Judges are increasingly recognizing these forms of “intersectional” discrimination and harassment in cases involving plaintiffs whose claims are based on their membership in more than one protected class. 

This week, Congress passed what may shape up to be one of the most groundbreaking employment laws passed in the last decades. The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (H.R. 4445) amends part of the Federal Arbitration Act that props up forced arbitration agreements for sexual harassment and sexual assault claims. Because of this new law, victims of sexual harassment and assault will no longer be silenced or forced to give up their day in court and will be able to publicly hold perpetrators responsible. We hope that this may soon also be the case for workers who are victims of other forms of workplace discrimination and wage theft, ending forced arbitration for all workers’ rights violations.

Congress recently passed a groundbreaking new law that will amend certain sections of the Federal Arbitration Act, and allow victims of workplace sexual harassment and sexual assault to have their day in court. This bill has significant benefits for workers, including giving worker’s options for litigating sexual harassment and sexual assault claims and the ability to take part in joint, class and collective actions against perpetrators. This law may provide a pathway to end employers’ continued use of forced arbitration agreements in all workers’rights disputes.

for the first time in national politics, paid family leave has become an election issue.  The issue has also gained some traction at the state level.  four states – California, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and most recently, New York – have enacted their own legislation….

for many workers, signing an employment contract with a confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-competition, or non-solicitation clause is a necessary part of accepting and keeping a job. What they don’t anticipate, however, is that those provisions can be leveraged…

Co-Written by Outten & Golden LLP Paralegal Toby Rae IrvingLast week President Trump and his daughter, Ivanka, made media appearances for what they dubbed “Workforce Development Week.” The President went to Wisconsin to promote an emphasis on skill-based learning…