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Stop Telling Women to Smile

Most women—no, all women—have had the experience of receiving unsolicited feedback on their physical appearance. Such commentary comes in many forms, from lewd remarks or demands for a “smile” on the street, to irksome discussions with well-meaning relatives about how much “prettier” one might look with a different hairstyle.  Women have long fought against these […]

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Forced Arbitration Q&A with Roberta Steele

As I’ve noted previously on this blog, it is important for workers to understand how forced arbitration—a seemingly innocuous procedural issue—undermines their civil rights. Earlier this week I talked with Roberta Steele, Program Director at the National Employment Lawyers Association.  Roberta’s work focuses on issues that prevent workers from having full and equal access to […]

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Consequences for Speaking Up

The Internet was abuzz with news of Emma Watson’s speech at the United Nations—first, with chatter about her public stance on gender equality and then with threats of scandal and exposure in retaliation for her explicit embrace of “feminism.”  Watson, best known to much of the world as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies, […]

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Laboring In Secret

Just before Labor Day, whitehouse.gov released a Chart of the Week illustrating that, among college graduates four years after graduation, women earn less than men in nearly every field of study.  A salary gap among recent college graduates is disturbing for two reasons. First, it suggests that women are earning less than men right away—even […]

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Recent EEOC Guidance Clarifies Federal Protections for Pregnant Workers

Most people would probably agree that an employee who requests “light duty” while eight-months pregnant should be entitled to that slight accommodation.  “Light duty” generally refers to work that is physically less demanding than the employee’s normal job duties; for example, “light duty” could mean not pushing or lifting over 20 pounds during a certain […]

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#ShameOnGawker: The bravery of Jezebel and the cowardice of Gawker Media

A few hours ago, the staff at Jezebel – a site that self-describes as being “a general interest women’s website” – banded together and posted an essay entitled “We have a rape gif problem and Gawker Media won’t do anything about it.”  As the essay explains: for months, an individual or individuals has been using […]

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Lawyering While Pregnant

I’m writing this from my office, high above a large city in the northeast, where I’m sitting, hopped up on a variety of medications designed to combat the violent nausea and sometimes blinding headaches that come, for me, with being almost ten weeks pregnant. At the moment, the meds are working ok, as they do […]

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50 Years of LGBT Rights Under Title VII

“Gay people are the new barometer for social change.” ~ Bayard Rustin On June 20, 2014, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) hosted Pride at 50: The Civil Rights Act of 1964. Almost 100 people from all walks of life attended the program.  It was truly an inspiring event to participate in. Malihe Kigasari, a […]

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Unprotected: A Quick Guide to Your (Lack Of) Rights

I didn’t plan our launch this way at all. Originally, I planned to talk about how today is the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of Title VII. I wanted to write about how incredibly important Title VII has been to this country. I wanted to write about what it meant to have laws on the […]

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