LGBTQ+ Discrimination in the Workplace (CLE)

This panel will examine Federal and New York protections for LGBTQ+ identifying individuals in the workplace, as well as recent trends, developments, and cutting-edge issues in employment law. The discussion will be led by top practitioners from both the plaintiffs’ and defense bar, as well as the New York City Commission on Human Rights. This free virtual CLE is presented by LeGaL's Women's Group and co-sponsored by the National Trans Bar Association.

CLE Credits:

1.0 Credit in Diversity, Inclusion and Elimination of Bias* 

*All are welcome to attend, but only Experienced Attorneys are eligible to receive credit in this category

Panelists:

Sunu P. Chandy is the Legal Director of the National Women’s Law Center. She oversees the Center’s litigation efforts, providing strategy across NWLC to create better outcomes for women and girls including in schools, workplaces, and the healthcare sector. She helped to create the Center’s Legal Network for Gender Equity and build the policies and procedures guiding the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund. She also provides guidance for the Center’s policy positions towards greater workplace justice. She has provided Congressional testimony in support of the Equality Act, a bill that would strengthen and clarify civil rights protections including for LGBTQ individuals and provided testimony before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on Federal Sector and #metoo. Until August 2017, Sunu served as the Deputy Director for the Civil Rights Division with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she led civil rights enforcement including in the areas of language access, auxiliary aids and services for individuals with disabilities and sex discrimination cases under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. Before that, Sunu was the General Counsel of the DC Office of Human Rights (OHR) and in that role oversaw the agency’s legal decisions following civil rights investigations of discrimination in employment, education, housing and public accommodation matters. Previously, Sunu was a federal attorney with the U.S. Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for 15 years and litigated cases including based on sexual harassment and other forms of sex discrimination, as well as race, national origin, disability, age and religion-based discrimination cases. At EEOC, Sunu led several outreach and training initiatives including as a member of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAPPI) Regional Working Group. Sunu began her legal career as a law firm associate representing unions and individual workers in New York City at Gladstein, Reif and Megginniss, LLP. Sunu earned her B.A. in Peace and Global Studies/Women’s Studies from Earlham College, her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law and her MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from CUNY/Queens College. Sunu has served on the boards of directors of organizations including the Audre Lorde Project, the South Asian Women’s Creative Collective and LeGaL. Sunu currently serves on the board of the Transgender Law Center and volunteers with Split This Rock, a national social justice poetry organization. Sunu is also cited as a legal expert on workplace civil rights, gender justice and LGBTQ rights including by The New York Times, The Washington Post, LA Times, and NPR.

Jeanne M. Christensen is a Partner at Wigdor LLP.  Ms. Christensen is one of the most prominent female attorneys within the field of employment litigation, having represented thousands of plaintiffs in federal and state workplace disputes including, but not limited to, sexual harassment, discrimination on the basis of gender, race, age, pregnancy, disability, LGBT+ status and/or religion, whistleblower retaliation, defamation and wage and hour violations.  Ms. Christensen represents clients from a wide variety of professions including, but not limited to, the financial services industry, the media and entertainment industry, the restaurant and hospitality industry, and corporate entities.  Ms. Christensen is known for being a fervent supporter of women’s rights in the workplace.  Her reputation includes representing female plaintiffs in some of the most widely-publicized cases involving sexual harassment, unequal pay, and gender and pregnancy discrimination in recent years.  She is also an active member of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund’s attorney network, the National Association of Consumer Advocates and Public Justice.

Cara E. Greene is a partner at Outten & Golden LLP in New York, where she represents employees and partners in litigation and negotiation in all areas of employment law, including executive and professional contracts and compensation; lawyers as clients; discrimination class actions; whistleblowing; sexual harassment; and discrimination based on disability, pregnancy, and family responsibilities.  She is Co-Chair of O&G's Family Responsibilities and Disability Discrimination Practice Group and is active in the Sexual Harassment and Sex Discrimination Practice Group, Financial Services Practice Group and the Executives and Professionals Practice Group.  In addition to reviewing and negotiating employment contracts and compensation guarantees, as well as severance agreements and other exit arrangements, Ms. Greene has litigated both individual and class action cases on behalf of a variety of employees including low-wage hourly workers, highly compensated professionals, lawyers, and employees in the financial services industry.  She is Chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section; is an active member of the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section; a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association and its New York affiliate, NELA/NY, and a member of the New York City Bar Association.

Carmelyn P. Malalis is the Chair and Commissioner of the New York City Commission on Human Rights.  Throughout her career, Ms. Malalis has demonstrated a fierce commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion, and preventing and prosecuting discrimination and intolerance. Since she assumed her role as Chair and Commissioner in February 2015, Commissioner Malalis has revitalized the agency, making it a recognized venue for justice for all New Yorkers through increased enforcement, novel restorative justice approaches to case and conflict resolution, and robust public education and outreach to prevent discrimination in New York City. to her appointment, Commissioner Malalis was a partner at Outten & Golden LLP where she co-founded and co-chaired its Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Workplace Rights Practice Group and co-chaired its Disability and Family Responsibilities Discrimination Practice Group; and successfully represented employees in negotiations, agency proceedings, and litigation involving claims of sexual harassment, retaliation, and discrimination based on race, national origin, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy, disability, and religion.  She has served on the New York City Bar Association's Executive Committee and Committee on LGBT Rights, Human Rights Watch's Advisory Committee to its LGBT Rights Program, the American Bar Association's Section on Labor and Employment Law Committee on Diversity in the Legal Profession, and the board of Queers for Economic Justice.

Courtney Stieber is a Partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP. Courtney is an employment litigator with strong trial experience who also provides day-to-day counseling on employment issues related to compliance with laws governing background checks.Courtney assists clients in defending employment litigations, from single-plaintiff charges or lawsuits to class actions and multi-plaintiff cases. In addition to defending cases alleging discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, she also has a particular area of experience in defending claims involving background checks. Courtney focuses on defending employers and consumer reporting agencies in claims brought under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), as well as state and local "ban the box" laws and other laws governing consideration of criminal history for employment purposes. Courtney also helps companies, both large and small, develop nationwide background check processes, and provides advice and counsel on issues concerning compliance in considering criminal history. In addition, she routinely provides advice and counsel to employers on employment questions of all types—wage-and-hour compliance, internal investigations, and accommodation and leave requests.

Moderator:

Lindsay M. Goldbrum is an Associate at Wigdor LLP.  Ms. Goldbrum represents individuals in a wide range of employment matters, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, discrimination on the basis of gender, pregnancy, race, disability and and/or age, retaliation, defamation, family and medical leave, whistleblower and contract claims.  She has experience representing employees in single-plaintiff litigation in both federal and state court as well as in arbitration.  A stalwart advocate for LGBTQ+ rights both in and outside of the employment context, Ms. Goldbrum currently serves on the Board of Directors for LeGaL, the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York.