Amy Tannenbaum, Program Assistant

Amy Tannenbaum is the Program Assistant for Education and Employment. Prior to joining the Center, she worked at the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs in their EEO Project. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Hamilton College in 2010 with a degree in comparative literature; her thesis explored how women have used writing and performance to address sexual assault.  Outside of her work with the Center, she volunteers with several women-focused projects in the D.C. area and runs half-marathons.

  • Printer-friendly version
  • Send by email

My Take

Pregnant Workers in NYC Gain Important Workplace Protection

Posted by Amy Tannenbaum, Program Assistant | Posted on: September 25, 2013 at 04:45 pm

Great news out of New York City today: a city-wide version of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act has passed! This bill will protect those pregnant workers in NYC who need temporary modifications to continue safely working during pregnancy, like a reprieve from heavy lifting duties, permission to take more frequent water and bathroom breaks, or the ability to sit on a stool behind a cash register. These protections will be hugely important especially to low-wage workers, who are most likely to work physically demanding jobs, like in retail and in food service, and whose workplaces are likely to have little flexibility in their policies. It ensures that workers who need adjustments to the job because they are pregnant have the same right to accommodation as workers who need adjustments because of disability.

Read more...
Tags: Pregnant Workers, Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), Pregnancy, Parenting, and the Workplace, Employment | 2 comments

Their Day In Court: Low-Wage Women Workers and Forced Arbitration Agreement

Posted by Amy Tannenbaum, Program Assistant | Posted on: September 24, 2013 at 10:04 am

Imagine that you’re a live-in housekeeper. One day, your employer asks you to sign an arbitration agreement – meaning that should any claims arise against your employer, they will be handled out of court. You sign. Later on, you accept a subpoena on behalf of your boss. He proceeds to beat you up. When you sue him, the court points to the arbitration agreement and tells you the matter must be worked out outside of court.

Read more...
Tags: Employment, Low-Income Workers and Families, Employment | 1 comment

Standing With Tiana

Posted by Amy Tannenbaum, Program Assistant | Posted on: September 09, 2013 at 11:32 am

Here at the National Women’s Law Center, we hear stories about problematic school policies all the time. But this story out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is particularly egregious: a charter school’s policy around hairstyles left seven-year-old Tiana Parker feeling alienated and her father with no choice but to transfer her to a new school.

Tiana Parker was sent home from Deborah Brown Community School due to her dreadlocks.  According to the school’s policy, “hairstyles such as dreadlocks, afros, mohawks, and other faddish styles are unacceptable” because they might “distract” students.  It’s not clear to me why dreadlocks and afros are considered “faddish” – these are common natural hairstyles in the black community that have been worn for centuries.  What is clear to me is that this school may need some education about the federal laws prohibiting programs that receive federal funding from discriminating based on race, color, or national origin – Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.  And let’s not forget Title IX, the law that prohibits sex discrimination in education. 

Read more...
Tags: Civil Rights Act, Education, Oklahoma, Title IX, Title VI, Education & Title IX | Add new comment

“We Can Do It!” – With A Little Help from the EEOC

Posted by Amy Tannenbaum, Program Assistant | Posted on: September 04, 2013 at 02:01 pm

For years, I’ve been enamored of the image of “Rosie the Riveter” – maybe it’s that we’re both redheads, but more likely it’s because she symbolize the breaking down of gender barriers, and new access for women to traditionally-male, higher-paying jobs.

That process of breaking down gender barriers is still very much in progress. Last week, the EEOC filed a lawsuit against Vamco Sheet Metals, Inc., a company that manufactures and installs sheet metal in New York. The lawsuit alleges that all of the women working on Vamco’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice construction project were fired for “pretextual reasons” – in other words, for fabricated or trumped-up charges designed to hide discriminatory sexist motive. And while Vamco has finished its work on this particular project, the EEOC is hoping to protect women who want to work on Vamco’s construction sites in the future with an injunction.

Read more...
Tags: EEOC, Employment, Women at Work, Career & Technical Education, Employment | Add new comment

Women’s Equality Day: The Fight for Voting Rights Continues

Posted by Amy Tannenbaum, Program Assistant | Posted on: August 26, 2013 at 12:08 pm

August 26th marks Women’s Equality Day, the anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment prohibiting U.S. citizens from being denied the right to vote on account of sex. The 19th amendment is widely known for giving women the right to vote.

Read more...
Tags: LGBT, Low-Income Workers and Families, Supreme Court, Voter ID Laws, Women & the Constitution, A Women's Agenda | Add new comment