August 4, 2021

Alex Berke Quoted in Law 360 Piece on the Cuomo Sexual Misconduct Fallout

In the fallout of the New York State Attorney General Letitia James’ report on her office’s investigation into sexual harassment claims brought against Governor Cuomo, many New Yorkers and Americans are asking, “What’s next?” While the path ahead is still unclear, the report itself provides a cogent roadmap for any potential lawsuits that might come as a result of Cuomo’s actions.

Senior Associate Alex Berke was quoted in Frank Runyeon’s analysis for Law 360, which details the investigation’s potential role to play in future litigation:

A key question for Cuomo and his allies is what will follow the AG's incendiary report, Berke said.

"Even though there's this kind of bombshell report of with so many details of actions of the governor took," Berke said, barring a criminal indictment or impeachment, "all that can come next is whether or not individuals choose to bring a claim against him." If they do, she said, the report certainly provides plenty of behind-the-scenes insight that would greatly improve the specificity of a plaintiff's claims, help craft deposition questions and target discovery requests.

Potential plaintiffs "now have a lot more information about what happened than the usual employee" bringing an employment claim, Berke said. Without ever conducting discovery or deposing a witness, they can benefit from the trove of details in the report, she added.

Click to read the rest of Cuomo Sexual Misconduct Report A Road Map For Lawsuits.

white line

$20 Million Pinterest Settlement May Have Lasting Effects for HR Diversity Initiatives

January 15, 2021
Gender Discrimination
A significant gender discrimination lawsuit brought by the former COO against her former employer, Pintrerest, at the end of last year may have hiring and diversity ramifications far beyond the doors of the Silicon Valley organization.

Women's Employment Still Reeling from Pandemic’s Effects

January 12, 2021
Gender Discrimination
According to the latest analysis by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the pandemic and lockdowns continue to have an outsize effect on women’s employment in the U.S. with fewer than half (44.6%) of the jobs women lost between February and December returning. Another way of looking at it is that roughly 12 million jobs simply disappeared. Or, as Representative Katie Porter tweeted, “Women. Accounted. For. All. The. Losses.”

Paid Maternity Leave Finds an Unlikely Champion, But Is That Enough?

January 8, 2021
Pregnancy Discrimination
Paid Family Leave
On the heels of some important wins for paid leave in the 2020 election, paid maternity leave has found a new supporter. One who you might not have expected: conservative co-host of The View Megan McCain. The challenge is, as Monica Hesse notes, “how we can speed up this process so that it doesn’t require every leave-denier to personally birth a child before they also get on board.”

Get In Touch

Knowing where to turn in legal matters can make a big difference. Contact our employment lawyers to determine if we can help you.