Joan Fife Weighs in on #Metoo Movement One Year Later with USA Today

Winston & Strawn Labor & Employment Partner Joan Fife was quoted in USA Today’s article titled “#MeToo One Year Later: Cosby, Moonves Fall, Sex Harassment Fight at Work Far From Over” published on October 4. The article examines sexual harassment allegations in Hollywood over the past year and sheds light on the growing number of policy changes in legislation and at some of the country’s largest companies.

Joan explains that businesses are in some ways moving at a faster clip than lawmakers. “I’m sure that many people would have expected there to be more prompt legislation passed and signed into law on both the state and the federal level. I think that companies have responded much more quickly...Going forward voluntarily, without waiting for the law to change, that’s how best practices are created,” she said.

Joan has more than 30 years of experience as a labor and employment litigator and has led over 50 class or collective actions across the country. She has defeated conditional certification in nationwide FLSA actions a number of times, including in claims alleging overtime resulting from alleged off-the-clock work, misclassification of employees, and misclassification of independent contractors. In addition, she has significant experience investigating #MeToo allegations and other employment concerns.