#MeToo Movement Inspires the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Claims Act

Eve I. Klein serves as Chair of Duane Morris’ Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group and serves as the firm’s employment counsel. Ms. Klein has over 30 years of experience representing businesses in all aspects of employment law, management labor relations and employment-related litigation. Ms. Klein has extensive experience advising clients about their rights and obligations regarding the complex and frequently changing federal, state and local laws and regulations which affect the workplace. Ms. Klein counsels clients on day-to-day workplace matters, in mergers and acquisitions and in protecting company good will and proprietary information. Clients rely on Ms. Klein for her practical advice and negotiation skills to avoid or resolve disputes without litigation whenever possible and for her vigorous defense of their position when litigation proves necessary. Ms. Klein regularly handles complex labor and employment litigation brought by current and former employees and labor unions, in state or federal court and before administrative agencies. Ms. Klein advises and defends employers in connection with issues and claims involving the employment discrimination statutes, disability accommodation obligations (both employment and public accommodation), family and medical leave laws, employee recruitment and work eligibility rules, plant closing restrictions, wage and hour rules and employee benefits. Ms. Klein frequently defends employers in wage and hour class action litigation. She also helps businesses draft employment agreements, including those with restrictive covenants, and has a wealth of experience litigating issues relating to the enforceability of restrictive covenants. Ms. Klein has significant experience in the representation of employers in labor relations under the National Labor Relations Act and the Taylor law, including in union representation and decertification elections and unfair labor practice proceedings. For clients that are unionized, Ms. Klein represents them in collective bargaining and grievance arbitration. Ms. Klein has handled collective bargaining for clients in a variety of different sectors. She has successfully represented unionized employers in hundreds of arbitration proceedings. Ms. Klein also represents employers in labor litigation, which runs the gamut from enjoining unlawful picketing activity, enforcing employer rights in connection with agreements to arbitrate and defending employers in withdrawal liability proceedings brought by multi-employer pension funds. Ms. Klein also serves as editor of the practice group’s client alerts regarding employment and labor law developments. She is a frequent speaker on employment and labor issues for clients, business groups and educational institutions. Ms. Klein has been recognized as one of the top 100 leading women lawyers in New York City in Crain’s 2018 Legal List, in Best Lawyers in America since 2005 and frequently in New York Super Lawyers for labor and employment law since 2006. Ms. Klein is a 1985 graduate of Cornell Law School and a graduate, with distinction, of Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Jonathan A. Segal is a partner at Duane Morris LLP in the Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group. He is also the managing principal of the Duane Morris Institute. The Duane Morris Institute provides training for human resource professionals, in-house counsel, benefits administrators and managers at Duane Morris, at client sites and by way of webinar on myriad employment, labor, benefits and immigration matters. Previously a litigator, Jonathan’s practice now focuses almost entirely on helping employers meet their business objectives or missions by minimizing legal risk, maximizing compliance and focusing on relationship with business objectives or mission and legal requirements or restrictions. Particular areas of practice include: Counseling, strategic planning, leadership training, and developing policies about, among other things: sexual and other unlawful harassment; gender and other pay equity; FLSA/wage and hour compliance; reductions in force; diversity and inclusion (with emphasis on implicit bias); social media; performance development and management; talent acquisition; ADA and FMLA issues; violence in the workplace; impaired professionals; employment policies and handbooks; and technology and privacy. Agreements, for example: business protection agreements (such as non-competes), confidentiality agreements, employment agreements, independent contractor agreements and recruiter agreements. Investigations, for example: providing counseling and training and conducting both privileged and non-privileged investigation of EEO and other matters. Traditional labor, for example: union prevention programs, union election campaigns, collective bargaining, contract interpretation and management rights training. Privileged audits, for example: climate surveys (harassment); wage and hour compliance; gender and other pay equity; union susceptibility; and diversity and inclusion (unconscious and systemic barriers). Administrative charges, for example: charges of discrimination, harassment, retaliation and failure to accommodate, as well as wage and hour charges before federal, state and local commissions and agencies. Acquisitions, for example, employment and cultural due diligence. Working with Alex Halper, Jonathan is the Chair of the Pennsylvania Chamber’s Legislative Committee. Jonathan leads the group in providing counseling on pending legislation and in participating in drafting proposed legislation. He was selected by his peers for recognition of his professional excellence in the 28th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America© (August 2021) for his work in: Employment Law - Individuals Employment Law - Management Jonathan’s passions include hands-on animal rescue, Holocaust remembrance and psychology. On the fun side, Jonathan remains mad about AMC’s Mad Men and is fortunate to have Bruce Springsteen as his virtual workout partner. Even so, Nina Simone is Jonathan’s favorite musical artist.

Jonathan D. Wetchler is an employment lawyer who works closely with clients to manage and resolve issues and disputes in virtually all areas of employment law. Having served as in-house counsel for two Fortune 500 companies and a high-tech start-up, Mr. Wetchler helps employers to develop and implement strategies, practices and programs to reduce their potential exposure to liability and to successfully resolve high-risk disputes and claims. With more than 20 years of experience in the area of employment litigation, Mr. Wetchler has successfully handled a wide variety of employment disputes, from class and collective actions to high-profile single plaintiff cases, as well as arbitrations and mediations. He has handled allegations of employment discrimination, sexual assault, sexual harassment, violations of ERISA, employee piracy, breach of covenants against competition and misappropriation of proprietary and confidential information, violations of wage payment statutes and the FLSA, OSHA, breach of employment contracts, defamation, whistle-blower claims and discharges in violation of public policy. Mr. Wetchler is actively involved in the negotiation and development of executive employment contracts as well as non-competition and anti-piracy agreements and programs. He designs and implements voluntary and involuntary reduction-in-force programs and works with clients, when appropriate, to develop programs requiring employees to arbitrate, rather than to litigate, their employment claims. Mr. Wetchler trains executives in managing employment-related issues and has made numerous presentations to industry groups, including the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, the Association of Legal Administrators and the National Business Institute, about the implementation of practices and programs to meet business goals and reduce potential claims.

Linda B. Hollinshead is a partner at Duane Morris LLP in the Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group. She is also the executive director of the Duane Morris Institute. The Duane Morris Institute provides flexible training and instruction for human resource professionals, in-house counsel, benefits administrators and managers at Duane Morris, at client sites and by way of webinars on myriad employment, labor, benefits and immigration matters. Ms. Hollinshead's key area of focus for employers is on compliance and employment law. Ms. Hollinshead provides training and counseling to employers throughout the country on a variety of subjects, including monitoring employee attendance, FMLA compliance, medical and religious accommodations, leaves of absence policies, harassment and discrimination prevention, responding to harassment and discrimination claims, FLSA and wage and hour compliance, including employee misclassification, diversity and inclusion, termination of employees, hiring practices, performance appraisals and performance management. Ms. Hollinshead also advises public accommodations as well as recipients of federal financial assistance on program accessibility and other compliance obligations. Ms. Hollinshead advises clients in numerous industries, including colleges and universities, manufacturing and retail companies, hospitals and other healthcare organizations, technology companies, financial services organizations, energy companies and not-for-profit entities. She is also a member of the firm's COVID-19 Strategy Team, Education Industry Group and Cannabis Industry Group. Ms. Hollinshead conducts investigations on behalf of employers regarding claims of harassment and discrimination as well as counsels employers concerning their own investigation of and responses to such claims. She also assists employers by drafting employees policies and handbooks, confidentiality and restrictive covenant agreements, employment agreements, termination and severance agreements as well as independent contractor agreements. She represents organizations before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other state and local agencies. Ms. Hollinshead is a 1997 cum laude graduate of Rutgers University School of Law and a graduate of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University (M.S., Public Policy) and Bucknell University (B.A., cum laude).

Caroline M. Austin concentrates her practice in employment litigation, employment policy development, preventative counseling and training designed to avoid litigation, unionization and employee attrition. Appearing before federal and state courts and administrative agencies, Ms. Austin represents clients in connection with a broad range of labor and employment matters, including age, race, gender, national origin and disability discrimination, sexual and racial harassment, restrictive covenants, breach of contract, and wage-and-hour laws. Ms. Austin served as law clerk to Honorable Daniel H. Huyett, 3rd, Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Ms. Austin is a 1994 graduate of Temple University, Beasley School of Law, where she was associate research editor of The Temple Law Review, and a graduate of Lehigh University.

Elisabeth Bassani practices in the area of employment law. Ms. Bassani is a 2019 graduate of Boston University School of Law, where she was a member of Public Interest Law Journal, and a graduate of Bates College.