A letter addressed to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Oct. 21 claims that the EEOC’s former general counsel, Sharon Fast Gustafson, sent messages to multiple employers encouraging them not to adopt travel benefits for employees seeking an abortion and cautioning them that doing so violates federal anti-discrimination laws.
Management-side employment law firm Littler Mendelson’s Workplace Policy Institute sent the letter to EEOC, according to a copy published by Bloomberg Law. The letter, which is signed by Michael Lotito, shareholder at the firm and co-chair of the institute, included an exhibit containing the purported message from Gustafson to a redacted employer postmarked Oct. 14.
In its letter to EEOC, Littler said Gustafson sent such messages to “a large number” of U.S. employers, including some of the firm’s clients.
“Ms. Gustafson is misleading and intimidating employers who lawfully provide travel benefits under their health plans for those who need medical care that is not available in their own states,” the firm continued. “This letter has caused our clients significant confusion and concern.”
The firm asked the EEOC’s Office of Legal Counsel to formally investigate the matter, and it asked the broader commission “to move swiftly to dispel any notion that Ms. Gustafson’s letter was authorized by or reflects the Commission’s current position with respect to employers providing abortion-related travel benefits.”
Lotito confirmed the authenticity...
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