Sharon Fast Gustafson

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Sharon Fast Gustafson
General Counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
In office
August 2019 – March 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Preceded byDavid Lopez
Succeeded byKarla Gilbride
Personal details
EducationBob Jones University (BA)
Georgetown University (JD)

Sharon Fast Gustafson is an American attorney who served as General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) from 2019 to 2021.[1][2]

Early life and education[edit]

Gustafson earned a BA in English from Bob Jones University in 1980.[3][4][5] She then graduated with honors from Georgetown Law Center in 1991.[5]

Advocacy[edit]

Gustafson specializes in employment law, primarily representing employees with discrimination and benefits claims.[6][7] She successfully litigated the 2015 pregnancy discrimination case Young v. United Parcel Service to the U.S. Supreme Court.[8] She served as counsel for Peggy Young, the case's plaintiff, for eight years.[9] According to the Harvard Business Review, the ruling makes it "significantly more likely that pregnant women denied workplace accommodations will succeed in their legal claims against the employers who denied them."[10]

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)[edit]

Nomination and tenure[edit]

Gustafson was confirmed as General Counsel of the EEOC by the United States Senate on August 1, 2019.[3][11] Several human rights advocacy organizations including the Human Rights Campaign and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights opposed her nomination citing that she would be "unwilling or reluctant to preserve the EEOC’s critical mission of defending LGBT people."[12] During a confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, she refused to answer whether she believes that discriminating against LGBT workers is a form of unlawful sex bias per the 1964 Civil Rights Act.[13]

Her tenure was characterized by prioritizing fighting religious discrimination in the workplace.[14]

On March 5, President Joe Biden fired Gustafson from her EEOC post.[15] Her Senate-confirmed term had originally been set to run through 2023.[16] The White House had requested her resignation on March 2, and terminated her formally upon her refusal to do so.[16]

Her termination was opposed by the Faith and Freedom Coalition, a conservative political advocacy organization that opposes abortion and same-sex marriage.[17] Conservative writer Rod Dreher called the move a "blow to religious liberty."[18] Biden's decision was praised by liberal observers.

Republican Congresswoman Virginia Foxx alleged that Gustafson's firing constituted "partisan warfare." Trump-appointed EEOC Commissioner Andrea Lucas added that the move threatened the "independence" of the agency. Conversely, Gustafson's predecessor David Lopez countered that in fact it was Gustafson who was violating established norms by not resigning, and that presidents have latitude to choose people for senior roles at the commission.[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Littler: Former EEOC general counsel 'intimidating' employers over abortion travel benefits". HR Dive. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  2. ^ "General Counsels of the EEOC". US EEOC. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  3. ^ a b "Gustafson Confirmed as General Counsel for U.S. EEOC". BJUtoday. 2019-08-12. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  4. ^ "Trump Administration Nominates New EEOC General Counsel". JD Supra. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  5. ^ a b "Ms. Sharon Fast Gustafson Profile | Arlington, VA Lawyer | Martindale.com". www.martindale.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  6. ^ "Sharon Gustafson, EEOC General Counsel Pick, Discloses Law Firm Income, Clients". Yahoo Finance. 2018-04-02. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  7. ^ "Sharon Fast Gustafson Sworn in As General Counsel of the EEOC". US EEOC. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  8. ^ Lithwick, Dahlia (2015-03-25). "A Pregnant Worker's Right to Sue". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  9. ^ "Supreme Court Clarifies Workplace Protections for Pregnant Women". NCR. 2015-03-30. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  10. ^ Morris, Liz; Calvert, Cynthia Thomas; Williams, Joan C. (2015-03-26). "What Young vs. UPS Means for Pregnant Workers and Their Bosses". Harvard Business Review. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  11. ^ "Senate Confirms Gustafson As EEOC General Counsel - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  12. ^ Rosenberg, Eli (2021-03-06). "White House fires Trump EEOC official after she refuses to step down". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  13. ^ Wiessner, Daniel. "EEOC general counsel nominee dodges Democrats' questions on LGBT bias". Reuters.
  14. ^ "Law Firm Calls Out Ex-EEOC Counsel's Note on Abortion Travel (3)". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  15. ^ Axelrod, Tal (2021-03-06). "Biden fires Trump-appointed lawyer who refused to resign". The Hill. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  16. ^ a b Stern, Mark Joseph (2021-03-09). "Why Biden Fired Trump's Appointee to a Key Civil Rights Job". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  17. ^ FaithandFreedom (2021-03-09). "Faith & Freedom Coalition Responds to Biden's Firing of Sharon Gustafson". Faith and Freedom Coalition. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  18. ^ Dreher, Rod (2021-03-05). "Biden Deals Blow To Religious Liberty". The American Conservative. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  19. ^ Restuccia, Andrew. "Biden Fires EEOC's Trump-Appointed General Counsel". WSJ. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
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