Kate S. Gold

Between what the pandemic and the social justice movements have meant for her clients, Gold said, her practice over the last couple of years has been like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.

“This has really been one of the most exciting years of my practice, which spans 30 years,” she said. “More than any other time that I can remember, my practice has really mirrored the significant events facing all of us.”

Primarily a litigator, Gold represents many entertainment and media companies in employment matters. Over the last year, she settled suits by employees against CBS Broadcasting Inc. and Peloton Interactive Inc.

She is still litigating a headline-grabbing case in New York against Billboard Magazine’s publisher brought by an editor fired from the company’s online LGBTQ magazine. Crowley v. Prometheus Global Media LLC, 1:19-cv-07571 (S.D. N.Y., filed Aug. 13, 2019)

A major litigation victory came in an appeal in which she represents not an entertainment company but a nonprofit that provides research on missions to space. She said the court’s published opinion in November is one of a very few about the need to exhaust administrative remedies to file class or disparate impact claims under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act. Foroudi v. The Aerospace Corp., 57 Cal. App. 5th 992 (2020).

Despite all those matters, Gold said she has spent only about a third of her time lately on litigation. Much more has gone into advising clients during the pandemic about shutdowns, layoffs and the myriad new laws and regulations.

For instance, she and two colleagues presented a webinar on those issues to an association of nonprofits brought together by Public Counsel. “I felt we reached a lot of people who needed advice because there were hundreds of attendees,” she said.

Another large share of Gold’s practice has involved counseling companies on issues of race and gender discrimination and pay equity. She has also conducted internal investigations, including one for a state agency and one for a global media company, which she described as highly publicized and very emotional.

During those investigations and other engagements, Gold has found that employees sometimes do have valid complaints. But sometimes, she has noticed “a real disconnect between what an employee feels or experiences … and what an employer believes is the significance of those same interactions.”

Gold is hoping that the pandemic wild ride is slowing down. “With respect to social justice movements and what that means for the workplace, I think we’re just getting started,” she said.

— Don DeBenedictis