In #MeToo era, some lawyers fielding more ‘reverse discrimination’ queries

Article here. Excerpt:

'Certainly the #MeToo movement has raised awareness of the need for gender equality in the workplace, Shilepsky said.

“But for a lot of companies, the concern about inclusiveness and level playing fields has been part of their cultures for a while,” she noted. “Sometimes they get it right and sometimes they don’t, but there are legal ways to promote fairness and opportunity for all. Making room for one group by pushing out another is not legal.”

Employer-side attorney Lisa S. Burton, who practices in Boston, is also seeing more instances of complaints in the #MeToo context, sometimes from men who believe that they did not receive a thorough or fair process before being disciplined or discharged.

“That is where we are seeing more claims: ‘Employers are not giving me a fair shake,’” she said.

According to Burton, the questions then become whether the action was a “knee-jerk reaction” to credit a woman’s account more than a man’s, and whether a situation was sufficiently investigated or whether it was just easier to “fire the white guy.”'