What do you do? You don’t have to tell me your job title, but what’s your job?
I’m a civil rights attorney. I help enforce employment discrimination laws. So when people are fired or harassed because of their race, religion, sex, or national origin, I try to help them. Of course, sex includes sexual orientation and gender identity.
How did you find your way into federal service? Did you always want to join up?
I applied straight out of law school. I actually found my application recently and it said, “I have no interest in the private sector, and I have no intention of pursuing a lucrative but unfulfilling job. Instead, I am seeking a position that both furthers a cause I believe in and requires my level of discipline and determination. At my agency, I can use the passion that drives me to serve the public by ensuring effective enforcement of the law.”
That was in 2007. I actually worked in immigration enforcement for a few years in the Obama administration. It was a great time to be there. Then I found my way to employment discrimination and have been doing that for many years.
What does this work mean to you? Why is it important to you, personally?
My work is everything to me. I’m proud of the specific work we do, helping people, but I’m proud to do it on behalf of my country. I admire my coworkers and many of the people around me who have been at my agency for decades producing fantastic work. My current job is my personal and professional dream. That sounds so cheesy! But it’s true.
I’ve written hundreds of briefs and argued dozens of cases in federal court. I’ve won cases that improved the law for workers. As a manager now, I’ve helped newer and less experienced attorneys learn to do the same, and made important strides in the law.
What should be important about this work to Americans? Why does it matter?
Congress effectively gave us this job: fighting for people who are treated poorly at work. They envisioned that we we do that job so that people wouldn’t have to bring a lawsuit every time they’re treated unfairly. We make work fairer and safer, and we do it without charging a cent. In fact, we help employers, too, by giving them guidance on how to comply with the law. Our cases are all civil lawsuits. They involve discrimination in hiring, firing, and everything in between (failure to promote, mistreatment at work). We bring harassment cases based on sex, race, age, disability, etc. Often, they are some of the most egregious sexual harassment cases you can imagine.
Another big part of our caseload is disability discrimination, including failure to make reasonable accommodations. We also bring pregnancy discrimination cases and cases about failure to accommodate pregnant workers, as well as failure to accommodate people based on religion.
What does all of this chaos and dysfunction mean to you? Do you have a sense of how it’s all going to impact your work and your mission?
I really want people to know that the people I work with at the federal government are the hardest working, most talented, most dedicated group of people I’ve ever known. Many of them walked away from a lot of personal gain to serve the public, and it’s heartbreaking to see them treated as if they are expendable at best, parasites at worst. We are working for the people and all we want to do is keep doing that.
GOLIKEHELLMACHINE 