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Gender Discrimination

Recent Changes to NDAs in Employment Contracts and Settlement Agreements

For years, companies have used non-disclosure agreements (“NDAs”) and non-disparagement agreements in employment contracts and settlement agreements. These provisions primarily allow companies to protect sensitive business information, but can also be used to prevent workers from speaking about harassment and discrimination in the workplace. While some victims of workplace discrimination enjoy the assurance of privacy that comes with an NDA, others see these provisions as silencing workers. Particularly within the #MeToo movement, NDAs were largely blamed for shielding perpetrators of harassment and discrimination from accountability, prompting significant backlash. California’s SB 331, the “Silenced No More Act,” is the latest in a string of state laws aimed at restricting the use of NDAs and non-disparagement agreements in settlement and employment contracts. Other states – including Oregon, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Nevada, Vermont, Washington, Tennessee, and Virginia – have recently instituted similar laws. The patchwork of state laws addressing NDAs and non-disparagement provisions, however, is inconsistent. Some laws address all types of workplace discrimination, while others, fueled by the #MeToo movement, address only sexual harassment and assault; some are only applicable to employment contracts and some only to settlement agreements. This article provides an overview of the varying approaches states have […]

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Protections Against Discrimination for Nonbinary Employees

Today (July 14) is International Nonbinary People’s Day.  According to a June 2021 study conducted by the Williams Institute, 1.2 million adults in the United States identify as non-binary.[1] “Nonbinary” is an identity embraced by people who do not identify exclusively as men or women.[2]  A nonbinary individual may identify as both a man and woman, somewhere in between, or as falling outside these categories.  Although many nonbinary people identify as transgender, not all do.[3]  Some, but not all, nonbinary people use “they,” “them,” and “their” pronouns;[4] such pronoun usage is not grammatically incorrect and should be respected.  Indeed, the American Dialect Society voted the singular “they” Word of the Year in 2015 and noted that it was used by writers such as Jane Austen, Geoffrey Chaucer, and William Shakespeare.[5]  While nonbinary gender identities are not only a recent phenomenon,[6] media exposure of nonbinary individuals in the United States has increased in recent years.[7] Unfortunately, nonbinary people face discrimination in society.  Survey responses about transgender people’s experiences with employment, education, healthcare, and policing indicate that nonbinary individuals are “suffering significant impacts of anti-transgender bias and in some cases are at higher risk for discrimination and violence” than transgender men and women […]

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New York Judicial Committee Issues Report and Recommendations on Gender Equity in State Court

In November 2020, the New York State Judicial Committee on Women in the Courts released its 2020 Gender Survey, detailing the treatment of women attorneys, litigants, and court employees in the state court system. While the study found that the treatment of women has improved markedly in the last few decades, it also found that significant gender bias continues to persist in New York State courts. The study—a sequel to the original 1986 report—was based on survey responses from a sample of over 5,300 attorneys admitted to practice law in New York State. The survey focused on several key issues, including the courthouse environment/sexual harassment; how gender impacts court interaction and perceived credibility; the treatment of domestic violence, rape, and prostitution cases; and the adequacy of courthouse facilities in providing Children’s Centers, lactation facilities, and baby changing stations. Treatment by Other Attorneys Though the Committee found that conditions in court facilities have improved since the original report, it also found continued gender disparities, as well as differing perceptions of discrimination between men and women. Regarding sexual harassment, for example, 10 percent of women surveyed reported that women attorneys are subjected to unwelcome physical contact by other attorneys in courts frequently, and another […]

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Final Order Granted in $4 Million Settlement for Plaintiffs in Forest Labs Gender Discrimination Class Action

On June 29, 2018, secured final approval of a $4 million class settlement reached in April 2017 for female sales force members of Forest Laboratories and Forest Pharmaceuticals (“Forest”). Judge Ronnie Abrams’ order in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York was the capstone of six years of litigation in Barrett et al v. Forest Laboratories, Inc., et al. on behalf of the named plaintiffs and a class of other female employees of the pharmaceutical giant who experienced systematic gender discrimination at the company. The class includes all-female sales force employed by Forest—as well as its affiliates, parents, predecessors, and successors—who worked in a legacy-Forest position as a sales representative, specialty representative, hospital representative, institutional representative, or regional sales trainer in the U.S. for at least a day between February 6, 2010, and April 3, 2017. The women alleged they were subjected to discrimination in compensation and promotion, as well as pregnancy-related discrimination – all of which adversely affected their pay and advancement. After years of extensive litigation, the plaintiffs and Forest engaged in settlement negotiations with a nationally known and experienced mediator and ultimately reached an agreement to settle the claims. The plaintiffs were represented by  attorneys David Sanford, […]

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