Kalpana Kotagal | |
---|---|
Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | |
Assumed office August 9, 2023 | |
President | Joe Biden |
Preceded by | Janet Dhillon |
Personal details | |
Political party | Democratic |
Children | 2 |
Education | Stanford University (BA, BS) University of Pennsylvania (JD) |
Kalpana Kotagal is an American employment attorney who is a commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Kotagal earned a dual Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2005.[1][2]
Kotagal served as a law clerk for Judge Betty Binns Fletcher. She later joined Cohen Milstein, where she has since worked as a partner. Kotagal was also a Wasserstein Public Interest Fellow at Harvard Law School. She specializes in employment law, Title VII, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.[3] Kotagal is also known for co-creating the concept of the inclusion rider, a legal stipulation that has become popular to include in entertainment industry contracts.[4][5][6]
Kotagal has represented workers in civil rights and employment class actions, including litigation against Sterling Jewelers alleging gender bias in pay and promotions and litigation against AT&T Mobility alleging pregnancy discrimination.[7][8][9] She also represented female Walmart employees in Dukes v. Wal-Mart, and has continued to represent workers in individual cases against Walmart.[7]
In 2021, Kotagal and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund concluded negotiations with Aetna that ensured access to breast augmentation surgery for transfeminine policyholders.[8][10]
Kotagal frequently writes and speaks on diversity, equity, and inclusion topics for general audiences. Her articles have appeared in outlets including The Washington Post, The Hill, and Refinery29.[11][12][13] She appeared in the 2018 documentary film This Changes Everything.[14]
Kotagal serves on the Advisory Board of University of Pennsylvania Law School's Office of Equity & Inclusion,[15] as well as the Board of Directors of public interest legal organizations A Better Balance and Public Justice.[16][17]
In April 2022, Kotagal was nominated to be a commissioner of the EEOC to replace Republican commissioner Janet Dhillon. Her nomination was held up because it was deadlocked in the Senate’s Health, Labor, Education, and Pensions Committee; but the 1 seat majority Democrats secured in 2023 allowed her nomination to move out of committee by a 1-vote margin. Because Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) opposed her nomination, the vote to invoke cloture to allow her nomination to proceed was tied at 50-50, and Vice President Kamala Harris had to break the tie, thus tying the record for the most tie-breaking votes ever cast by vice-president. Manchin opposed her nomination because “Ms. Kotagal does not represent West Virginia values and would prioritize a partisan agenda over creating commonsense, bipartisan solutions that bring our nation forward,” he said. Republicans also unanimously opposed her nomination. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) wrote "Based on Kotagal’s record I think she will use her position to attack religious liberty and force her politics on Texas companies." Her addition as an EEOC Commissioner gave Democrats a majority on the five-member panel.[18][19]
Kotagal lives in Cincinnati with her husband, Wyatt King, and two sons.[20]
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