Kalpana Kotagal

Kalpana Kotagal
Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Incumbent
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.

Education

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]

Career

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]

EEOC confirmation

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]

Personal life

Kotagal lives in Cincinnati with her husband, Wyatt King, and two sons.[20]

References

1. "Civil Rights Practice at a Private Public Interest Firm: Kalpana Kotagal". Stanford Law School. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
2. School, Stanford Law. "Kalpana Kotagal L'05". Retrieved 2022-09-18.
3. "President Biden Announces Key Nominees". The White House. 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
4. "WarnerMedia Announces New Inclusion Rider Policy To Promote Diversity". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
5. Garon, Jon M. (2021-08-03). The Independent Filmmaker's Law and Business Guide: Financing, Shooting, and Distributing Independent Films and Series. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-64160-427-7.
6. Buckley, Cara (2019-06-19). "Inclusion Rider? What Inclusion Rider?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
7. Wiessner, Daniel (2022-04-01). "Biden taps lawyer behind Hollywood 'inclusion rider' for EEOC post". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
8. "3 Highlights From EEOC Pick Kalpana Kotagal's Track Record - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
9. "Federal Class-Action Lawsuit Alleges 'No-Fault' Attendance Policy Unfairly Discriminates Against Pregnant Women". ACLU.org. May 14, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
10. "Aetna agrees to expand gender-affirming surgeries for transgender women". Hartford Courant. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
11. "Opinion | The 'inclusion rider' should be a Hollywood standard". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
12. Kalpana Kotagal, opinion contributor (2018-03-28). "Push for diversity in Hollywood paves path for rest of America". The Hill. Retrieved 2022-07-12. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
13. Kotagal, Fanshen Cox, Kalpana. "We Created Hollywood's New Inclusion Rider — Here's Why It's Just The Beginning". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
14. This Changes Everything (2018) - IMDb, retrieved 2022-07-07
15. "Alumni Advisory Board". www.law.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
16. "Kalpana Kotagal". A Better Balance. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
17. developer, dms. "Public Justice Board". Public Justice. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
18. Weykamp, George; Munhoz, Diego Areas. "Senate Confirms Kotagal for EEOC, Giving Democrats Majority". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
19. August, Melissa (July 13, 2023). "The History Behind Kamala Harris Matching the 191-Year-Old Record for Tiebreaking Votes". Time. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
20. Dishman, Lydia (2018-03-22). "This Is One Of The Women Behind Hollywood's Inclusion Rider". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-04-01.