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Law360 (December 21, 2023, 4:05 PM EST) — New York litigation firm Moses & Singer LLP has been hit with a proposed class action from a former partner alleging the firm wrongfully fired her after she requested workplace accommodations for her pregnancy, according to a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court Thursday.
Megan Daneshrad, who is still listed as a partner on Moses & Singer’s website but says she was fired in October, is suing on behalf of herself and a proposed class of at least 40 women who are or have been Moses & Singer attorneys, saying the firm’s culture was “hostile” for women and working mothers.
Daneshrad was promoted to “income partner” in 2020, according to the complaint, which says that despite the promotion, she was paid less than some male attorneys and was given less favorable assignments. The complaint also alleges she was denied a path to equity partnership, specifying that only three women currently have reached that level at the firm.
Daneshrad also says in the complaint that she faced harassment from her colleagues particularly surrounding both of her pregnancies. During her second pregnancy in June, the complaint says, she requested medical accommodations for severe morning sickness, but her request was ignored, and she “tragically lost her second pregnancy shortly after requesting accommodations and receiving none.”
Daneshrad had surgery related to those pregnancy complications in June and was fired in October with no notice or reasoning, she claims in the complaint.
“The procedure took place on a Friday,” the complaint says, “yet Ms. Daneshrad worked throughout the weekend in response to defendants’ demands while she was meant to be out on leave recovering physically and mentally.”
The complaint says that after being fired, Daneshrad declined the firm’s offer to pay her “less than four months salary of her already discriminatorily low pay” in return for signing an agreement that she would not speak poorly about Moses & Singer.
“One of two things happened,” the complaint said. “Either defendants fired Ms. Daneshrad while under the belief that she was pregnant and would soon take legally protected maternity leave again. Or defendants knew that Ms. Daneshrad’s surgery was related to her pregnancy and fired her right afterwards regardless. Either explanation indicates defendants’ disregard for the law and Ms. Daneshrad’s humanity.”
During her first pregnancy, the complaint says, Daneshrad “faced increased discrimination, and then received even fewer substantive work opportunities.”
After her son’s birth in 2021, the complaint says, the firm asked her to return to the office during her maternity leave for “trivial matters.”
When Daneshrad returned to work, the complaint says, lactation accommodations were inadequate. Daneshrad was only given access to a crowded storage room “without adequate space for her breast pump and her belongings” and was frequently harassed, with one male colleague telling her to “go back to being a good mommy” after she worked on a matter outside work hours and while sick, according to her complaint.
After this encounter, the complaint says, Daneshrad confided in a female colleague, who told her, “He said the exact same thing to me when I was on maternity leave.” According to the complaint, the colleague told Daneshrad that she had reported the comment to managing partner Dean Swagert and to human resources, but nothing happened. The complaint says Daneshrad, too, was brushed off by firm leadership when she reported discrimination and inappropriate behavior.
“This illustrates that Moses Singer’s leadership was aware of an existing pattern and practice of caretaker status discrimination and of interfering with women on protected leaves, and yet they did nothing to intervene,” the complaint says.
Daneshrad’s attorney promised accountability.
“Ms. Daneshrad is a brave and talented lawyer who deserved better than to be fired without notice after experiencing pregnancy loss,” Shane Seppinni of Seppinni Law said in a statement Thursday. “Through her lawsuit, she and her colleagues will hold Moses Singer accountable and send the message that corporate defense law firms and other employers must stop treating women and moms like second-class employees.”
Representatives for Moses & Singer did not immediately return a request for comment.
Daneshrad is represented by Seppinni Law.
Counsel information was not yet available for Moses & Singer.
The case is Daneshrad v. Moses & Singer LLP et al., case number 1:23-cv-11056, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
–Editing by Amy French.
