On August 30, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 778 into law. This bill not only clarifies certain aspects of the expanded sexual harassment prevention training requirements but also, and most importantly for many employers, extends the deadline to January 1, 2021 to provide training to nonsupervisory employees and to train supervisors who were not […]
New York City’s Museum of Sex (“the Museum”) is facing a lawsuit from a former employee who alleges that the Museum failed to protect her from sexual harassment by her co-workers and the Museum’s patrons. The plaintiff’s complaint alleges that “[p]atrons and co-workers of the Museum grope its employees, use utterly inappropriate sexual language, and […]
Yesterday, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released its Enforcement and Litigation Data for Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2018, which began October 1, 2017 and ended September 30, 2018. According to the data, the EEOC received 76,418 charges of workplace discrimination in FY 2018, with retaliation the most frequently filed charge, followed by sex, […]
A common observation from in-house attorneys is that, unlike those in private practice, many lack the luxury of being able to focus on a specific area of law. Rather, they are often expected to understand and provide legal advice on a myriad of complex topics that differ from their ordinary practice. This program, requested by […]
Governor Jerry Brown signed into law four new bills addressing harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Senate Bill 826 mandates that public companies based in California have at least one woman on their board of directors by the end of 2019. That number increases in 2021 depending on the size of the board. Senate Bill […]
The California legislature is looking to pass a host of bills aimed at decreasing sexual harassment in the workplace and increasing rights of victims of sexual harassment: SB 820 bans confidential settlement agreements in cases involving sexual assault, sexual harassment or sex discrimination. This bill would make any such confidential settlement agreement void as a […]
The #MeToo movement is still moving along and causing victims to come forward in various industries, including the judiciary. Just yesterday (May 24, 2018), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court suspended a state court Judge Thomas Estes because of his secret affair with a court clinician, Tammy Cagle. The plaintiff claims Judge Estes sexually harassed and […]
Have a strengthening economy and declining unemployment numbers led to a decline in EEOC charges? The most recent data strongly suggests a correlation between a tight labor market and the number of EEOC charges. This week the EEOC released statistics on charges filed in its most recent fiscal year ending September 30, 2017. Here are […]
The Arizona House of Representatives is considering House Bill 2020 that seeks to prohibit confidentiality agreements in cases of alleged sexual assault or sexual harassment. See here. Proposed by Rep. Maria Syms (R-Paradise Valley), HB 2020 casts any confidentiality agreement that “restricts the disclosure of factual information that is related to a sexual assault or […]
Whether it be a Hollywood mogul, a renowned politician or a formerly respected executive, it is clear from the Me Too and Time’s Up movements that the voices against and stands taken to uncover and prevent sexual harassment have a momentum that has not been seen in decades. One additional mechanism that has been added […]
