Professor Rick Rossein is appointed as an expert by the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division (DOJ), to assist the DOJ in obtaining compliance with a Consent Decree (“Decree”) between the United States of America and the City of Orlando and the Orlando Fire Department (“OFD”), Florida in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
This Decree resolves the issues raised in a charge of discrimination filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) alleging (1) the failure to promote within OFD based on sex; (2) gender-based hostile work environment; and (3) retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The Court-approved Decree and Order address both individual and class relief and include the following:
- Development and revision of anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, and anti-retaliation policies affecting all OFD employees.
- Review, develop, and revise investigation procedures concerning complaints of sexual harassment or retaliation allegedly committed by any OFD Firefighter or employee.
- Review, develop, and revise training materials and programs addressing anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, and anti-retaliation affecting all OFD employees.
- Review record-keeping mechanisms and assist in monitoring compliance with the Decree.
Rick is very excited to be working with the DOJ Civil Rights Division, as he underlines that it’s important that the Justice Department is back in the business of enforcing civil rights laws and pursuing social justice.
Professor Ruthann Robson notes:
“The DOJ is very fortunate to have Rick Rossein as an expert in this Orlando firefighter’s case. Rossein is not only the author of the leading treatise on anti-discrimination law, but a skilled litigator who understands how facts and details matter when transforming workplaces into sites of true equal opportunity.”
Rick’s treatise, “Employment Discrimination Law and Litigation,” via Thomson Reuters West, was revised and republished as a four-volume treatise in August 2020 during its 30th anniversary year.
The main focus of the treatise continues to be federal employment discrimination law and litigation, but the revision incorporates state statutory and judicial developments that intersect closely with federal law, including recent decisions on disability law, marijuana laws, and statutes prohibiting racial grooming standards.
A new section on pandemic employment issues has also been added that suggests sex plus theory should be added to disability law under the ADA.
This seminal legal text has been cited by federal and state courts, civil rights practitioners, law journals, legal references, books, and practice guides.