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suppress free speech in the name of protecting women is dangerous
and wrong. -- Betty Friedan |
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BOARD
MEMBER NEWS
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Lawyer Mary D. Dorman is asking for $1 million in damages from the United Nations for her client James Wasserstrom, a senior staff member of the U.N. for twenty-five years.
Wasserstrom was serving in Kosovo when he was fired after he blew the whistle on superiors for taking kickbacks. After Wasserstrom signed a consulting contract to start after his U.N. job ended, he was arrested by the U.N. police , his apartment searched and his office was taped off for months while posters bearing his picture were posted warning he should not be allowed on U.N. premises while the mission investigated him alleging conflict of interest,
The case is a high-profile test case for the U.N.'s new court system for employee issues. The U.N. Dispute Tribunal set up two years ago holds open hearings and its rulings are binding on the Secretary-General. Under a whistleblower protection policy signed by then-Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2005, all U.N. employees are to be offered protection from retaliation. |
Mary D. Dorman Wins Important Anti-discrimination Case
New York State's highest court confirmed a jury verdict against a high ranking officer of the New York City Police Department on March 31, 2011. The Court upheld a finding of retaliation by Chief James Hall against Captain Lori Albunio and Lieutenant Tom Connors when they advocated for the transfer of a sergeant who Hall perceived to be gay. Albunio and Connors had argued that Hall's retaliation against them which included de facto demotions, unwarranted discipline and being shut out of meetings, ended their careers in the NYPD. The jury awarded each of them half a million dollars.
Their attorney, Mary D. Dorman, argued the case before the high court. It can be seen at: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/CTAPPS/Decisions/2011/Mar11/43opn11.pdf
Ms. Dorman also tried the case before the jury.
http://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/appellate-division-first-department/2009/2009-07928.html.
The case sets an important precedent in New York in requiring a liberal interpretation of the NYC Human Rights Law. |
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FFE Board Member and past President Mary D. Dorman comforting children in Haiti
Mary, along with Dr. Susie Vassallo ( Emergency Room Physican at Bellevue Hospital) and her partner Cynthia Barrett traveled there to help care for the children who were victims of the earthquake through the group International Alliance for the Advancement of Children.
http://www.iaac4children.org/index_Page385.htm.
They spent a week at the IAAC's Children's Center in Les Cayes 5 hours north of Port au Prince. They made the trip with no financial assistance, taking a load of medical and other supplies as well as enough donated books to create a library at the Children's Center. |
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Sandy Rapp to Perform at NOW NYS Convention in Seneca Falls, NY
At the November 7-9 NOW-NYS Convention in Seneca Falls, NY, author/singer Sandy Rapp will perform two new tribute songs, including one for former National NOW President Patricia Ireland and another about the poet Maya Angelou's support of Hillary Clinton. The 1:30 PM NOW presentation at the historic Seneca Falls Presbyterian Church will mark the 160th Anniversary of the first-ever US women's convention. Rapp's songs, available in preview at www.SandyRapp.com, will accent talks by legendary Feminist Majority founder Ellie Smeal and feminist Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY).
www.nownys.org |
FFE Board Member MARY D. DORMAN
Wins 1.5 Million Dollar Verdict in Discrimination
Case
Last week, after
more than 4 weeks of testimony and
5 hours of deliberation, a New York
State Supreme Court jury awarded
1.5 million dollars in a gay employment
discrimination suit brought by three
former New York City police officers. In
the suit, an NYPD sergeant was found
to have been denied a transfer into
a sought after unit, Youth Services
Section, because he was perceived
to be gay by now two-star chief James
Hall. Captain Lori Albunio, then
the commanding officer of Youth Services
Section and Lt. Tom Connors, the
second in command, were found to
have been retaliated against after
they actively supported the transfer. Each
was denied promotions and transfers
and Captain Lori Albunio lost her
command.
"This affirms that at the highest levels
the NYPD continues to practice discrimination
against people who are perceived to be gay
and their heterosexual allies," said
Mary D. Dorman, counsel for Connors and Albunio. "This
verdict holds accountable those in the NYPD
who would continue to act unchecked. To find
a two star chief guilty of gay bias sends
a huge message to the NYPD.
Both Connors and Albunio
had exhausted every remedy available them
within the NYPD, including testifying at
EEO investigations regarding discrimination
by Hall. "The fix
was in from the time our complaints were first
filed. There wasn't any way that they were
going to find Hall guilty of discrimination.
In fact he has been promoted twice since the
complaint against him was made" said
Connors. "Hall knew from the beginning,
in spite of the confidentiality rules, that
I testified against him and, as a result,
my career was over."
Lori Albunio, through dedication to the police
department and hard work, achieved the position
of commanding officer of Youth Services. Hall,
in retaliation for Albunio's opposing his
discrimination, was instrumental in her losing
her command. |
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| Hello,
Cruel World: 101 Alternatives
To Suicide For Teens, Freaks
and Other Outlaws / Kate
Bornstein
Celebrated transsexual
trailblazer Kate Bornstein has,
with more humor and spunk than
any other, ushered us into a
world of limitless possibility
through a daring re-envisionment
of the gender system as we know
it.
Here, Kate bravely
and wittily shares personal and
unorthodox methods of survival
for navigating an often cruel world.
A one-of-a-kind guide to staying
alive outside the box, Hello,
Cruel World is a much-needed
unconventional approach to teenage
suicide prevention for marginalized
youth who want to stay on the edge,
but alive.
Hello,
Cruel World features a
catalog of 101 Alternatives to
Suicide that range from the playful
(Moisturize), to the irreverent
(Disbelieve the Binary), to the
highly controversial (Get Laid.
Please). Designed to encourage
readers to give themselves permission
to unleash their hearts' harmless
desires, the book has only one
directive: "Don't be mean." It
is this guiding principle that
brings its reader on a self-validating
journey, which forges wholly
new paths toward a resounding
decision to choose life.
Tenderly intimate
and unapologetically edgy, Kate
is the radical role model, the
affectionate best friend, and the
guiding mentor all in one kind
and spirited package.
A celebrated pioneer
for the LGBTQI community, transsexual
author and performance artist,
Kate Bornstein is the author of
the wildly successful books My
Gender Workbook and Gender
Outlaw: On Men, Women and The Rest
of Us. |
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Luxurious
Loving: Tantric Inspirations
for Passion and Pleasure / Barbara
Carrellas and Urban Tantra®
Barbara Carrellas
and Urban Tantra® are thrilled
to announce Barbara's new book Luxurious
Loving: Tantric Inspirations
for Passion and Pleasure.
In today's fast-paced
world, couples may struggle to
find time and energy for sex amidst
work, kids, friends, family, as
well as all of life's other responsibilities
and commitments. Slow, sensual
lovemaking is one of the first
pleasures to go when so little
time exists. However, the key to
expanded states of endless pleasure
is taking the time to slow down.
When you can immerse yourself completely
in the experience of either giving
or receiving, time ceases, trust
increases, intimacy deepens, and
you reprogram the way you imagine,
breathe, gaze, move, taste, touch,
and connect. Join Barbara Carrellas
as she teaches couples new/ancient
ways to enjoy new heights and depths
of erotic pleasure. Luxurious Loving
also features dozens of dramatic
erotic photographs by renowned
photographer, Allan Penn.
available at: http://www.amazon.com/
website: http://www.barbaracarrellas.com
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For previous years news and events, please visit the Board Member News Archive
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