WASHINGTON, DC, February 19, 2019: Chai R. Feldblum, most recently a commissioner of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and a leading voice on workplace diversity, inclusion, harassment prevention, and disability rights issues, and her former chief of staff, Sharon Perley Masling, are joining Morgan Lewis as labor and employment partners and directors of the firm’s workplace culture consulting and training practice, resident in Washington, DC.
As part of the global employment team, Chai and Sharon will augment Morgan Lewis’s suite of services for employers in preventing and responding to claims of harassment and sexual misconduct. They also will conduct workplace culture assessments; review policies, procedures, and training programs; and develop strategic plans for creating safe, inclusive, and respectful workplaces. Their approach will leverage their considerable policy and enforcement knowledge with the EEOC in consulting with top-tier corporate management and boards of directors to create a customized approach for each client.
“At this moment, when employers of all sizes recognize the need to prevent harassment in their workplaces, Chai and Sharon are well positioned to assist in that urgent task,” said Firm Chair Jami McKeon. “Having spent the last many years setting government policy, they are uniquely qualified to make the business case to employers to take wide-ranging action to create hospitable work environments and reduce their legal risk.”
Chai, who served two terms on the EEOC beginning in 2010, is highly skilled in employment non-discrimination law, was a leader in strategic planning for the EEOC, and co-chaired its Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace. She previously was a law professor for 18 years at Georgetown University Law Center, where she established the Workplace Flexibility 2010 initiative, which sought common ground between employers and employees regarding workplace flexibility issues. Earlier in her career, Chai played a leading role in drafting and negotiating the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and subsequent amendments to the law, as well as bills to protect members of the LGBT community.
Sharon, who served as chief of staff and senior counsel to Chai since 2011, was Chai’s primary legal, policy, and strategic adviser at the EEOC. She directed the work of the EEOC’s Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace, co-led its Harassment Prevention Action team, and led the development and roll out of its innovative Respectful Workplaces training program. Sharon previously worked in the US Senate on the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and in the Disability Rights Section of the US Department of Justice.
“Our clients will benefit incredibly by tapping into the deep knowledge and experience of Sharon and Chai,” said Grace Speights, the leader of Morgan Lewis’s labor and employment practice who was recently honored as Attorney of the Year by The American Lawyer for her groundbreaking work with companies in light of the #MeToo movement. “They will offer innovative and comprehensive services to help employers proactively manage their risk by creating a workplace culture where harassment does not occur and where employees are working at their highest level of productivity.”