Presented in coordination with Legal Aid at Work, The Impact Fund, and Squire Patton Boggs
Questions? Email programs@balif.org
CLE #2: LGBTQ+ Employment Discrimination Claims in Practice
Date: Wednesday February 10, 2021
Time: 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Description:
Recent advancements in LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination law have come at a time of significant change for the federal and state judiciaries and administrative agencies. This training will briefly review the current substantive law of LGBTQ+ workplace rights before turning to the procedural and practical considerations of representing LGBTQ+ clients. Participants will gain an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of filing with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) and of bringing suit in federal and state court. They will also learn how to issue spot other work-related legal claims that often accompany charges of LGBTQ+ discrimination.
Eligible for 1.5 hours Elimination of Bias CLE credit.
Elizabeth Kristen is the Director of the Gender Equity & LGBT Rights Program and a senior staff attorney at Legal Aid at Work (“LAAW” -- formerly known as Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center). Over the past 18 years, she has worked tirelessly to secure justice for victims of discrimination and harassment who otherwise would not have legal representation, including members of the LGBTQ community. Ms. Kristen attended Berkeley Law, graduating in 2001. Upon graduation, she served as a law clerk for Judge Browning on the Ninth Circuit. Ms. Kristen began her public interest career as a Skadden Fellow at LAAW in 2002. In 2012, she was selected as a Harvard Law Wasserstein Public Interest Fellow. In 2015, she received a “California Lawyer of the Year” award from California Lawyer magazine. She has been named a Northern California Super Lawyer since 2016.
Jeff Kosbie (he/him) is an associate at Gibbs Law Group where he represents plaintiffs in class actions and other complex lawsuits involving consumer protection, securities fraud, and employment law. He previously worked as a staff attorney in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and served as the Multidistrict Litigation Law Clerk to the Judges Lucy Koh, Beth Freeman, and Edward Davila of the Northern District of California. Jeff started his legal career as a staff attorney at Positive Resource Center where he advocated for medical care and Social Security disability benefits for people with HIV and mental health disabilities. Jeff is co-chair of BALIF and Treasurer of the BALIF Foundation. Jeff lives in Oakland with his husband. In his free time, he enjoys running ridiculous distances on mountain trails around the Bay Area (and beyond).
Jared Odessky (he/him) is a Skadden Fellow in Legal Aid at Work’s Gender Equity & LGBTQ Rights Program. Jared advises workers who face discrimination and harassment based on their sex, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity, with a focus on representing low-wage LGBTQ workers in underserved areas in California. Jared previously worked for the National Employment Law Project, the Employment Unit of Greater Boston Legal Services, A Better Balance, and Outten & Golden, a plaintiff-side employment law firm.
