David W. Garland, a Member of the Firm and Chair of the firm’s National Labor and Employment Steering Committee, in the firm’s New York and Newark offices, was quoted in Bloomberg Big Law Business, in “Weinstein Saga Has Business Leaders Calling Their Lawyers,” by Chris Opfer.
Following is an excerpt:
The reverberations from movie producer Harvey Weinstein’s fall from grace has some businesses—and their lawyers—taking another look at how a permissive office culture can allow sexual harassment to go unchecked. …
The movie mogul is the latest in what seems to be an increasingly long line of powerful people—often men—publicly exiled after reports of decades of alleged harassment, and sometimes more. From comedian Bill Cosby, who continued to work in entertainment as rape allegations slowly mounted, to former Fox News commentator and subject of multiple sexual harassment accusations Bill O’Reilly, revelations of wrongdoing have been quickly followed by questions about how alleged harassers managed to continue to operate for so long.
“Any time you have an organization dominated by a particularly strong and powerful person who is essential to the mission and viability of the company, that presents challenges in all sorts of ways,” David Garland, an attorney at Epstein Becker & Green, told Bloomberg Law. Garland last year represented former Fox News chief Roger Ailes in a harassment lawsuit by anchor Gretchen Carlson. Ailes later resigned, as similar allegations from other Fox News anchors went public. He died in May.
“The challenge is not necessarily complicity, it’s how you address the allegations,” Garland said.
Related reading:
October 19, 2017: Bloomberg BNA Daily Labor Report, Weinstein Saga Has Business Leaders Calling Their Lawyers,” by Chris Opfer. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
People
Board of Directors / Member of the Firm