Tanzina Vega from the public radio show “The Takeaway” interviewed LVBH partner Sharon Vinick about how employers can be held liable for harassment that occurs while employees are working remotely. In the segment Sharon discusses the risks of the virtual office and how businesses can respond to them.
LVBH Partner Leslie Levy was recently interviewed for a column regarding CNN legal analyst and New Yorker writer Jeffrey Toobin’s indecent exposure during a Zoom meeting. The column, published recently in the Los Angeles Times, considers what has been learned in the age of #MeToo. It also discusses whether Zoom meetings are considered workplace meetings. Ms. Levy believes they are, adding “I think his colleagues probably could make a complaint of sexual harassment against the employer.”
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LVBH Partner Sharon Vinick was recently interviewed for an article that just appeared in the Washington Post regarding former cheerleaders of the Washington Football Team who have filed a lawsuit alleging that the team created lewd videos using outtakes from swimsuit calendar photographic sessions. Ms. Vinick, who brought successful wage-theft lawsuits on behalf of cheerleaders against the Oakland Raiders and the New York Jets, discusses the merits of the case as well as the potential hurdles the former cheerleaders face. According to Ms. Vinick, while the women may have signed a release to allow the team use their pictures for the calendar, they may still have a case. “There is no reasonable expectation that when these women are signing away the rights to their images that they signed them away to be sliced and diced into a porn video,” opined Ms. Vinick.
The National Women’s Law Center has published its 2020 Progress Update: Me Too Workplace Reforms in the States. The report provides an overview of progress that has been made in advancing anti-harassment legislation for workers around the country and highlights how survivors have led the push for state law reforms. LVBH’s Wendy Musell is quoted in the report as an expert on the movement, the laws, and the change that is still needed.
In explaining why workplace harassment reforms should not be limited to sexual harassment, Ms. Musell states “It isn’t just white women who are getting sexually harassed, so it is an artificial construct to not include race, national origin, religion, etcetera [when strengthening anti-harassment protections]. Looking forward, we have a moment of opportunity that should be grasped to fill in these gaps on a national and statewide basis.”
On the topic of expanding access to justice, she brings her expertise on California’s new law extending the statute of limitations for worker civil rights violations to three years, saying, “Extending California’s statute of limitations has been extremely helpful for low-wage workers, who . . . often need to make very difficult decisions: how you pay rent, put food on the table, versus making a complaint. Having the additional time to stabilize their economic situations before they proceed is very important, and I think is one of the greatest positive moves for low income survivors of harassment.”
BetterBrave, a nonprofit dedicated to tackling sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace, has launched the BetterBrave Community Podcast. The podcast intends to initiate conversations on a weekly basis to explore aspects of workplace harassment. New episodes are posted every Wednesday.
One of the very first episodes features LVBH partner Jean Hyams discussing how reporting harassment is doing the company a service. “All workers are entitled to a workplace that is free of harassment and discrimination,” she said. “When an employer receives a report about something that’s going on in the workplace that sounds like it may be sexual harassment, they have to investigate it,” Hyams continued.
LVBH partners Darci Burrell and Jean Hyams are both on the Advisory Board of the nonprofit. Formed in 2017 in response to public outcry over sexual harassment, BetterBrave seeks to empower the workforce to create a safe and equitable workplace free of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation through innovative resources, tools and trainings.
Levy Vinick Burrell Hyams LLP, along with the National Women’s Law Center, a renowned women’s rights organization, represents three women workers at a cable industry manufacturing plant in San Diego in their claims for sexual harassment, including one woman who was sexually assaulted. The plaintiffs are women of color who worked as cable assemblers for CableConn Industries, Inc.
Despite fear of retaliation, the women reported sexual harassment to CableConn management. As alleged in the complaint filed in San Diego Superior Court, instead of appropriately investigating or addressing its supervisors’ misconduct, CableConn— including its CEO and President, protected the two supervisors, allowing them to remain in positions where they used their power continue harassing the three women. CableConn also retaliated against the workers and constructively discharged two of the women, all while claiming to help them.
The lawsuit also seeks damages for violation of California’s wage and hour laws, including failing to provide the women with legally required meal breaks and forcing them to work more than 10 consecutive hours without appropriate compensation.
As part of the settlement of a high-profile Title IX lawsuit brought by Virginia M., a former student, the Sacramento City Unified School District has agreed to sweeping programmatic changes in how it will respond to reports of sexual assault and harassment. Signed by the Superintendent of the District with the authorization of the District’s Governing Board, the new policies will impact nearly 50,000 students attending schools in the District.
After Levy Vinick Burrell Hyams LLP and its co-counsel, Equal Rights Advocates, filed suit in state court, the District paid a monetary settlement of $400,000 to the student in the fall of 2019. However, the settlement required more than money. It also required SCUSD to work with Equal Rights Advocates to draft, implement, and monitor progress of new policies for responding to reports of sexual assault and harassment. After months of further negotiations, a comprehensive programmatic agreement has been reached, including expanded training for students and staff, increased support services and protections for students, and at least one on-site Title IX specialist at every school in the District.
The suit which brought about these programmatic changes, alleged that when school officials found out about the rape, they effectively suspended the victim, escorting Virginia off campus and directing her not to return for the rest of her Junior year. Meanwhile, the two students who raped her remained in school completely unaffected. According to the lawsuit, school officials broke several federal and state laws, including Title IX, the federal law banning gender discrimination in education by: failing to inform Virginia of her rights; discouraging her from taking legal action; failing to provide any academic support or counseling; failing to provide options for avoiding her assailants at school (other than kicking her out); not conducting a Title IX investigation; failing to take effective action to stop the bullying, threats, and harassment she experienced when she returned to school; and failing to provide any accommodations for the resulting trauma symptoms that interfered with her education.
The lawsuit received media attention and resulted in hundreds of students protesting how the District handled sexual harassment. With the momentum of the #MeToo movement driving industries, communities and governments to change how we address sexual harassment, students joined the fight for meaningful change. Virginia was committed to making sure what happened to her never happened again, and insisted that part of the settlement include SCUSD’s commitment to genuine culture change and best practices by entering into a separate agreement with ERA to assess and revise SCUSD’s policies, procedures and practices related to discrimination and harassment.
Additional highlights from the newly signed agreement include:
This is a significant victory for the students of SCUSD and the District has promised to comply with both the letter and the spirit of Title IX and analogous California laws. LVBH thanks and congratulates Equal Rights Advocates for their continuing commitment to fight for gender justice in workplaces and schools across the country.