It's the attorney who won the ground-breaking "pregnancy accommodation" case.
President Trump has nominated Sharon Fast Gustafson to be General Counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. That position has been vacant since David Lopez resigned in December 2016 to return to private practice. (He's at Outten & Golden in Washington, D.C., now.)
Ms. Gustafson is a solo practitioner in Arlington, Virginia, and she represented Peggy Young in the ground-breaking case Young v. UPS, in which the U.S. Supreme Court found that employers had to accommodate pregnancy and related conditions if it made accommodations in other circumstances. (UPS and Ms. Young settled after the Supreme Court decision came down.)
I don't know a lot about Ms. Gustafson, but I am impressed with her tenacity. The EEOC declined to sue on Ms. Young's behalf, and Ms. Young lost at the district court level, and at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. But Ms. Gustafson (and Ms. Young) hung in there and won big at the Supreme Court.
By the way, we're still waiting for a Senate vote on the President's other EEOC nominees, Janet Dhillon (for Chair) and Daniel Gade (for Commissioner) . . . *sigh*
Of Counsel & Chief Legal EditorRobin also conducts internal investigations and delivers training for HR professionals, managers, and employees on topics such as harassment prevention, disability accommodation, and leave management.
Robin is editor in chief ...
This is Constangy’s flagship law blog, founded in 2010 by Robin Shea, who is chief legal editor and a regular contributor. This nationally recognized blog also features posts from other Constangy attorneys in the areas of immigration, labor relations, and sports law, keeping HR professionals and employers informed about the latest legal trends.
