Sharon Vinick 

From an early age, Sharon R. Vinick was obsessed with ensuring that everyone was treated fairly — whether it was determining how to divide a cookie or confronting a playground bully.

Today, she is a seasoned plaintiff’s employment attorney who has spent the last thirty years pursuing justice and fair treatment for her clients.

One of Vinick’s earlier cases made national headlines. In a David versus Goliath showdown, she took on the mighty Raiders.

The case illuminated the scant wages paid to sideline cheerleaders, a reality that had long been concealed in the shadows. Lacy T. v. The Oakland Raiders, A144707 (Cal. App. 1st Dist., Dec. 13, 2016).

In the wake of the lawsuit, numerous copycat suits were filed across the country, resulting in a sea-change in the compensation of cheerleaders working for teams in the National Football League.

Vinick is the managing partner of Levy Vinick Burrell Hyams, a firm that exclusively represents people subjected to unfair workplace treatment.

While not everyone who contacts her office has a valid legal claim, many inquiries relate to illegal workplace practices. According to Vinick, there is a misconception that discrimination and harassment are in the past, and that is simply not true.

“Despite the progress that we’ve made in protecting workers’ rights, there is still much work to be done,” Vinick continued, “representing employees in pursuing their claims against employers continues to be important and meaningful work.”

Vinick, a graduate of U.C. Berkeley and Harvard Law School, said her office has seen a recent surge in the number of complaints being filed by transgender individuals.

“As a nation, we need to do more to protect the rights of transgender individuals who are frequently subjected to mistreatment in the workplace, ranging from the daily insult of being misgendered to being subjected to harassment and discrimination,” she said.

Vinick also believes that anti-bullying legislation would go a long way toward not only protecting transgender individuals, but also other workers.

“It is heartbreaking to me that after 35 years of practicing employment law, we have so much further to go as a nation,” Vinick said.

— Douglas Saunders