Equal opportunity

• A Case for Women, an organization dedicated to educating women about taking civil legal action, is alerting women in the state of New York that the window to file a lawsuit for sexual abuse is closing in November 2023.
• This statute applies broadly to sexual abuse that occurred in the past, especially related to an organization or entity, and includes one very important area – workplace sexual abuse.
• View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230810974047/en/
  Susan Knape, Founder of A Case for Women.
• (Photo: Business Wire)
  “This is why we started the I Couldn’t Say No campaign,” said Susan Knape, Founder and President of A Case for Women.

• "This recognition is a testament to Elissa's legal prowess and her dedication to clients," says Managing Attorney Dean E. Dennis .
• Gysi litigates and arbitrates labor and employment disputes, including the defense of wage and hour, discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination and accommodation claims.
• Gysi represents employers in matters before the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board and other federal and state administrative agencies.
• Hill, Farrer & Burrill LLP is a California based law firm that commits to professional excellence, quality of service and client loyalty.

• While most hot flashes aren’t televised, the entertainer’s experience was far from unique.
• Barrymore, age 48, is one of approximately 15 million U.S. women from 45 to 60 who work full time and may experience menopausal symptoms.
• The three of us write and teach about employment discrimination and feminism, and two of us have written a book about menstruation.
• Because of our shared interests, we are currently writing a book about menopause and the law.

Stigma and silence

• Common symptoms of perimenopause include hot flashes, sleep disturbances, heart palpitations, excessive bleeding and irregular periods.
• Technically, menopause occurs after women don’t have a period for an entire year, and postmenopause is the stage after that.
• They may feel stigma and shame, and they may worry that it could hurt their chances for a promotion, their co-workers will see them as less capable or that their status at work will be otherwise jeopardized.

No legal protections

• No federal law requires employers to accommodate menopausal symptoms.
• When Crossmark, her employer, refused, Sipple felt that she had no choice but to quit.
• She sued, but the Middle District of Georgia dismissed her case, refusing to recognize her termination as a form of sex discrimination.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding accommodations

• Employees have far fewer legal protections for menopause today than for pregnancy and breastfeeding.
• Congress first directly addressed pregnancy discrimination in the workplace in 1978 with the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
• That law requires reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on employers.

Why not menopause?

• First, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination laws, could issue “best practices” guidelines.
• These guidelines can be modeled on practices in the United Kingdom, where many business have adopted menopause policies.
• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission could also issue guidance highlighting menopause-based discrimination as a form of sex or age discrimination.

• "Our report highlights twenty-one (21) challenges victims of federal officials' discriminatory acts confront when navigating the protracted EEO complaint system," said Tanya Ward Jordan, C4C President, and Founder.
• "Our report also addresses EEO reform measures we shared with Representative Elijah Cummings.
• Therefore, we unite with the USDA Coalition of Minority Employees and the Caucus of African American Leaders to raise awareness about a flawed EEOC-led federal complaint system."
• The C4C report received praise from Lawrence Lucas, President Emeritus of the USDA Coalition of Minority Employees.