Kalpana Kotagal

Kalpana Kotagal
Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Assumed office
August 9, 2023
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byJanet Dhillon
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
Children2
EducationStanford University (BA, BS)
University of Pennsylvania (JD)

Kalpana Kotagal is an American employment attorney who is a commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Education[edit]

Kotagal earned a dual Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2005.[1][2]

Career[edit]

Kotagal served as a law clerk for Judge Betty Binns Fletcher. She later joined Cohen Milstein, where she has since worked as a partner. Kotagal was also a Wasserstein Public Interest Fellow at Harvard Law School. She specializes in employment law, Title VII, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.[3] Kotagal is also known for co-creating the concept of the inclusion rider, a legal stipulation that has become popular to include in entertainment industry contracts.[4][5][6]

Kotagal has represented workers in civil rights and employment class actions, including litigation against Sterling Jewelers alleging gender bias in pay and promotions and litigation against AT&T Mobility alleging pregnancy discrimination.[7][8][9] She also represented female Walmart employees in Dukes v. Wal-Mart, and has continued to represent workers in individual cases against Walmart.[7]

In 2021, Kotagal and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund concluded negotiations with Aetna that ensured access to breast augmentation surgery for transfeminine policyholders.[8][10]

Kotagal frequently writes and speaks on diversity, equity, and inclusion topics for general audiences. Her articles have appeared in outlets including The Washington Post, The Hill, and Refinery29.[11][12][13] She appeared in the 2018 documentary film This Changes Everything.[14]

Kotagal serves on the Advisory Board of University of Pennsylvania Law School's Office of Equity & Inclusion,[15] as well as the Board of Directors of public interest legal organizations A Better Balance and Public Justice.[16][17]

EEOC confirmation[edit]

In April 2022, Kotagal was nominated to be a commissioner of the EEOC to replace Republican commissioner Janet Dhillon. Her nomination was held up because it was deadlocked in the Senate’s Health, Labor, Education, and Pensions Committee; but the 1 seat majority Democrats secured in 2023 allowed her nomination to move out of committee by a 1-vote margin. Because Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) opposed her nomination, the vote to invoke cloture to allow her nomination to proceed was tied at 50-50, and Vice President Kamala Harris had to break the tie, thus tying the record for the most tie-breaking votes ever cast by vice-president. Manchin opposed her nomination because “Ms. Kotagal does not represent West Virginia values and would prioritize a partisan agenda over creating commonsense, bipartisan solutions that bring our nation forward,” he said. Republicans also unanimously opposed her nomination. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) wrote "Based on Kotagal’s record I think she will use her position to attack religious liberty and force her politics on Texas companies." Her addition as an EEOC Commissioner gave Democrats a majority on the five-member panel.[18][19]

Personal life[edit]

Kotagal lives in Cincinnati with her husband, Wyatt King, and two sons.[20]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Civil Rights Practice at a Private Public Interest Firm: Kalpana Kotagal". Stanford Law School. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  2. ^ School, Stanford Law. "Kalpana Kotagal L'05". Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  3. ^ "President Biden Announces Key Nominees". The White House. 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  4. ^ "WarnerMedia Announces New Inclusion Rider Policy To Promote Diversity". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  5. ^ Garon, Jon M. (2021-08-03). The Independent Filmmaker's Law and Business Guide: Financing, Shooting, and Distributing Independent Films and Series. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-64160-427-7.
  6. ^ Buckley, Cara (2019-06-19). "Inclusion Rider? What Inclusion Rider?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  7. ^ a b Wiessner, Daniel (2022-04-01). "Biden taps lawyer behind Hollywood 'inclusion rider' for EEOC post". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  8. ^ a b "3 Highlights From EEOC Pick Kalpana Kotagal's Track Record - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  9. ^ "Federal Class-Action Lawsuit Alleges 'No-Fault' Attendance Policy Unfairly Discriminates Against Pregnant Women". ACLU.org. May 14, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  10. ^ "Aetna agrees to expand gender-affirming surgeries for transgender women". Hartford Courant. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  11. ^ "Opinion | The 'inclusion rider' should be a Hollywood standard". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  12. ^ Kalpana Kotagal, opinion contributor (2018-03-28). "Push for diversity in Hollywood paves path for rest of America". The Hill. Retrieved 2022-07-12. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  13. ^ Kotagal, Fanshen Cox,Kalpana. "We Created Hollywood's New Inclusion Rider — Here's Why It's Just The Beginning". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 2022-07-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ This Changes Everything (2018) - IMDb, retrieved 2022-07-07
  15. ^ "Alumni Advisory Board". www.law.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  16. ^ "Kalpana Kotagal". A Better Balance. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  17. ^ developer, dms. "Public Justice Board". Public Justice. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  18. ^ Weykamp, George; Munhoz, Diego Areas. "Senate Confirms Kotagal for EEOC, Giving Democrats Majority". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  19. ^ August, Melissa (July 13, 2023). "The History Behind Kamala Harris Matching the 191-Year-Old Record for Tiebreaking Votes". Time. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  20. ^ Dishman, Lydia (2018-03-22). "This Is One Of The Women Behind Hollywood's Inclusion Rider". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
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