Susan Gross Sholinsky, Member of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, in the firm’s New York office, was quoted on the PBS NewsHour website, in “In a Move to Empower Victims of Sexual Harassment, Vermont Law Takes Aim at Common Legal Practice,” by Molly Enking.
Following is an excerpt:
A new law that went into effect in Vermont this month sheds light on a little-known legal practice in private sexual harassment settlements that some say punishes the victim.
Known as a “do not darken my door” or a “no rehire” clause, it bars employees who settle discrimination cases from ever working for their employer again — and this month, Vermont became the first state to ban it.
Vermont is the latest of many states to pass new sexual harassment laws since the #MeToo movement gained national recognition last fall, but its bill is the first to address this specific legal provision. Lawyers told the NewsHour Weekend that this is considered a widespread practice, but it’s hard to know exactly how widespread, because most sexual harassment cases are settled privately and bound by non-disclosure agreements.
Critics say this kind of clause hurts the victim and disincentivizes people from coming forward when they experience harassment or discrimination. …
The practice has been a “boilerplate” part of separation agreements between employees and employers for years, said Susan Gross Sholinsky, an employment and labor lawyer at Epstein Becker & Green in New York City. She said the clause is meant to protect the company from being sued again in the future.
“No-rehire clause or not, I don’t know a company that would go out and rehire an employee that they just settled a case with—it doesn’t make sense for them,” Sholinsky said.
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Board of Directors / Member of the Firm