Biglaw
firm
Jones
Day
will
have
to
defend
their
parental
leave
policy
at
trial.
Back
in
2019,
the
firm
was
sued
by
former
associates,
married
couple
Marc
Savignac
and
Julia
Sheketoff,
alleging
a
variety
of
discriminatory
practices.
Many
of
those
claims
were
dismissed
during
summary
judgment,
including
Sheketoff’s
allegation
she
was
paid
less
due
to
a
discriminatory
performance
review
from
a
male
partner
and
Savignac’s
claim
that
firing
him
while
on
parental
leave
violated
the
D.C.
Family
and
Medical
Leave
Act.
However,
on
Wednesday,
Judge
Randy
Moss
made
a
sealed
ruling
that
the
claims
the
firm’s
newborn
parental
leave
policy
discriminates
against
biological
fathers
and
retaliation
claims
based
on
the
couples
complaints
about
the
policy
can
move
forward.
As
reported
by
Bloomberg
Law,
the
allegations
that
the
firm’s
policy
“imposes
and
reinforces
harmful
stereotypes
and
archaic
gender
roles”
will
head
to
trial.
Savignac
can
go
forward
with
a
claim
under
Title
VII
of
the
1964
Civil
Rights
Act
that
Jones
Day’s
policy
discriminates
because
of
sex
by
giving
eight
more
weeks
to
female
associates
compared
to
their
male
peers
to
care
for
and
bond
with
a
new
child,
and
on
a
similar
claim
under
the
Equal
Pay
Act.
The
couple
also
raised
triable
evidence
on
their
sex
discrimination
claim
against
Jones
Day
challenging
the
policy
under
the
District
of
Columbia
Human
Rights
Act,
Moss
said.
Additionally,
there’s
the
retaliation
claims
under
Title
VII,
the
Equal
Pay
Act,
and
the
DCHRA.
The
couple
sent
an
email
complaining
about
the
policy
while
Savignac
was
on
leave,
and
he
was
fired
three
days
later
(Sheketoff
had
already
left
the
firm
at
that
time).
A
trial
where
a
Biglaw
firm
is
defending
itself
from
discrimination
allegations
(assuming
there
isn’t
a
last
minute
settlement)
will
certainly
be
interesting
to
watch.
Earlier:
Lawsuit
Alleges
Jones
Day
Doctored
Firm
Picture
To
Make
Attorney
Look
More
Caucasian
New
Discrimination
Lawsuit
Against
Jones
Day
Is
Already
Getting
Messy
It’s
Like
Jones
Day
Doesn’t
Even
Understand
The
Concept
Of
Optics
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].