Mindy Farber's Schools

• New York University School of Law , Class of 1977 Bachelors in Law Studies for Doctor of Law

• Johns Hopkins University , Class of 1974 Bachelors in History Received a BA/MA History

Mindy Farber's Affiliations

• DC Phi Beta Kappa Association

• MC Women's Bar Association

• Law Practice Management Section of the ABA

• MC Bar Association Executive Committee

• National Employment Lawyers Association Board

• Center for Labor and Employment Law

Mindy Farber's Publications

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Mindy Farber December, 2010 By: Mindy Farber As an Employment Law Attorney at Farber Legal, LLC in Bethesda, Maryland, I have three decades of experience in representing clients on complex labor issues such as disability leave, discrimination, and wrongful discharge. I offer expertise on all labor-related U.S. laws, from the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA was passed by Congress and signed into law by George H. W. Bush in 1990, with the aim of prohibiting discrimination based on disability. As such, it has wide-ranging applications similar in scope to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which outlawed discrimination based on race, sex, national origin, and religion. Under the ADA, employers may not discriminate against employees who fairly qualify for company positions in terms of hiring, salary, advancement and discharge, workers’ compensation, and other conditions of employment. Private companies affected by Title I of the ADA must have 15 or more employees, and be involved in interstate commerce. Title II prohibits disability discrimination among all public entities at local, state, and federal levels through the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as in public transportation sectors through the U.S. Department of Transportation. Title III of the ADA specifically covers public accommodations and commercial facilities; Title IV covers telecommunications. The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) has had a significant effect on the interpretation of ADA legal treatment. Specifically, the Congress-led ADAAA has reversed a number of Supreme Court judgments that could limit the rights of those with disabilities. For more information on the ADA, and other laws relevant to labor law, visit the Farber Legal website at www.farberlegal.com .

• Bideawee, Mindy Farber December, 2010 Mindy Farber, owner of two dogs, ardently supports humane organizations that focus on animal welfare, including the pet adoption and support agency Bideawee. Recognizing the importance of animal companionship to children, adults, and the elderly, Bideawee maintains five facilities in various New York and Long Island locations. In 1903, Flora d’Auby Jenkins Kibbe founded Bideawee, one of the oldest and most respected animal welfare agencies in the country. With Scottish origins, Bideawee means “stay awhile” and reflects the organization’s mission to promote long-term, loving relationships between people and animals. Offering a number of innovative services, Bideawee aims to provide good homes for abandoned or neglected pets and insure a positive outcome for people and their adopted animal companions through education and support programs. Highly experienced in matching people with animals, Bideawee carefully consider each potential adoption. Already well-acquainted with all the animals available for adoption, staff members also take sufficient time to get to know the personality, housing situation, and expectations of prospective adopters. Based on their research, Bideawee staff offers sound advice to each client and helps them choose the best pet for their needs. Committed to the idea that there “are no bad dogs, only bad owners,” Bideawee offers age-appropriate group or individual training and classes that help owners form meaningful relationships with their pets and deal with behavioral issues in a constructive manner. Bideawee’s focus on education minimizes the chance of pet owners relinquishing a loved but frustrating pet and strives to breaks the sad but familiar cycle of adopting and abandoning animal companions. Bideawee provides numerous community resources including veterinary care and one of the nation’s original pet therapy programs for residents of nursing homes, hospitals, or special education facilities. The organization’s website provides useful advice from animal behavior experts who answer specific questions about troubling issues owners experience with their pets.

• The American Civil Liberties Union, Mindy Farber January, 2011 A graduate of New York University School of Law, Mindy Farber currently oversees a highly successful employment law practice based in Bethesda, Maryland. With over 30 years of experience in her field, Mindy Farber’s professional accomplishments include her involvement in a landmark case that markedly altered antiquated discriminatory epilepsy laws in the District of Columbia. Additionally, Mindy Farber contributed to a groundbreaking decision in one of the United States’ first cases dealing with transgender discrimination. Assisting clients facing employment issues at Farber Legal LLC, Mindy Farber maintains ties with numerous professional associations to expand her capabilities as an attorney. Outside of her duties at Farber Legal LLC, Mindy Farber donates time and energy to supporting the activities of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), formerly acting as the Vice President of the organization’s Montgomery County Chapter. Founded in 1920, the ACLU devotes its resources to defending the inalienable rights guaranteed to every American citizen by the United States Constitution. Utilizing an approach of combining public education, litigation, and legislative lobbying, the ACLU stands apart as one of the most influential forces behind positive advancements in constitutional law. Headquartered in New York, New York, the ACLU boasts a membership base of 500,000 lawyers, government officials, policymakers, community leaders, and social activists, individuals who share a commitment to ensuring equal rights and representation for all U.S. citizens. Over the course of its 90-year history, the American Civil Liberties Union has championed the rights of many people. ACLU has advocated for labor unions, protected foreign immigrants from deportation, defended the practice of all religions on a number of levels, fought for drug policy reform, supported the separation of church and state, backed initiatives to ensure freedom of speech and freedom of the press, defended women’s reproductive rights and affirmative action, pushed for increased gun control, and opposed certain aspects of campaign finance reform. To learn more about the American Civil Liberties Union, visit www.aclu.org.

• People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Mindy Farber February, 2011 By Mindy Farber [Posted by PETA] Founded in 1980, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) grants a voice to those without the ability to stand of for themselves. Establishing and reinforcing animal rights, PETA strives to protect animals from exploitation and cruel treatment, including breeding for the production of food and clothing. Promoting awareness among policymakers and the general public, PETA aims to change the fundamental ways in which mankind views animals. Today, PETA primarily targets the four industries that prolong animal abuse: clothing, factory farms, laboratories, and entertainment. In the modern world, humans can nourish, clothe, entertain, and educate themselves without encroaching on the basic rights of all living beings. By simply monitoring what we purchase, eat, and do with greater scrutiny, we can save the lives of billions of needlessly injured, abused, and killed animals. One of PETA’s most recent successes, Brookstone stores around the nation agreed to discontinue the sale of live frogs as pets in cruel “Frog-O-Spheres.” These frogs often sat on shelves ignored for weeks and ended up in homes with individuals unprepared to administer proper care. They were packed in boxes and shipped thousands of miles to become a piece of decoration without any regard for the frogs’ well-being. Through a campaign of e-mails, telephone calls, and boycotts, PETA achieved its goal of liberating these tiny lives. At the end of 2010, PETA worked with several schools around the nation and encouraged them to adopt a voluntary dissection policy. Previously, the schools required students to participate in dissection labs in order to pass a class. Now, students may pursue equivalent activities rather than compromise their beliefs. Among the schools was Polk State College, which previously insisted that students dissect fetal pigs in anatomy and physiology courses.

• Mindy Farber: Age Discrimination Frequently Asked Questions for Employers, Part 1, Mindy Farber June, 2011 Mindy Farber has served as an attorney for both employees and employers in a wide range of discrimination cases. A noted expert, Mindy Farber also sits on the National Board of Labor and Employment Law. As such, she is able to provide counsel to employers facing virtually any type of discrimination issue. What kind of age questions are legal in a job interview? Most questions are legal, including date of birth and when the individual finished his or her education. However, in most cases, this information is not particularly useful to the employer. If you have a good reason for asking about age, clearly explain the reason in order to discourage potential lawsuits. Otherwise, focus on other aspects more pertinent to the job. How do I write performance assessments that will stand up in an age discrimination case? Employers have lost age discrimination cases because their performance evaluations were constructed in such a way that they were biased against older workers. For example, a performance evaluation that predominantly measures skills that younger workers would have and older workers lack could be used as evidence of age discrimination in court. In order to make sure your assessments stand up, carefully evaluate them and verify that they honestly describe the factors that are most important to the position. In addition, look at the results of your assessments on a larger scale. If employees of a certain age typically score better or worse than the average, you probably need to revise your performance criteria. Alternatively, you may need to provide training to your managers to help them make unbiased assessments.

• Mindy Farber: Age Discrimination Frequently Asked Questions for Employers, Part 2, Mindy Farber June, 2011 Mindy Farber has represented clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to individual workers in employment law cases. One of the most successful employment attorneys in the Washington, D.C. area, Mindy Farber founded her practice in 1991. In this article, she continues her discussion on age discrimination. Are there cases when benefits can be legally distributed based on age? Yes, but not usually. An employer might decide to correct a policy in order to conform to standards within the industry and increase its ability to attract top hires. For instance, it might boost the pay raise schedule for younger employees but not for older employees. The rationale would be that older employees had attained similar levels of compensation over time but that maintaining competitiveness requires the firm to increase the speed at which younger employees reach that same level. In this case, age is not the determining factor in the change in policy, it just happens that the issue only affects younger workers. Before engaging in this type of practice, however, consult with your attorney. Does age discrimination protect just older employees, or does it relate to younger employees as well? Unless your business is located in Wisconsin, New Jersey, or parts of California, age discrimination only refers to discrimination on the basis of being too old. In most other jurisdictions, an employer can pass over a young employee using age as a determining factor. In most cases, however, this type of discrimination signals poor judgment on the part of the employer. Employees should be promoted based on their ability; there are few instances where overlooking a qualified employee for being too young would prove beneficial to the company. Can off-hand comments be used as evidence of age discrimination? On their own, generally not, but if they represent a pattern of behavior they may be held up in court. Jokes or casual comments about age usually do not constitute proof of age discrimination. In combination with other evidence, however, these types of comments may tip the scale. The best policy consists of developing HR protocols that discourage discrimination while still maintaining a collegial atmosphere.

• About the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Mindy Farber June, 2011 By Mindy Farber In 1991, I founded Farber Legal, LLC, a firm devoted to employment and labor law. I have a passion for defending the rights of those in need of my assistance, but I also take pride in belonging to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), an organization that promotes the rights of animals. Animal rights advocate Henry Bergh founded the ASPCA in 1866, shortly after the founding of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in the United Kingdom. Since Mr. Bergh established the organization, the ASPCA has upheld its mission to prevent animal cruelty throughout the U.S., just as the RSPCA strives to prevent animal abuse in the U.K. The ASPCA assists pet owners in the proper care and treatment of animals by sponsoring numerous resources. In particular, the ASPCA provides a 24-hour Animal Poison Control Line and free training and behavior guidance from qualified experts. The ASPCA also employs a fully trained staff of veterinarians and mobile spray/neuter clinics stationed in many of New York City’s low-income areas. Finally, the ASPCA understands the sorrow pet owners experience at the loss of a beloved pet. To help pet owners through their grief, the ASPCA offers support services, bringing together individuals to facilitate the healing process. In 1912, the ASPCA opened its first animal hospitals in an effort to improve animal health and welfare. Since that time, ASPCA veterinarians have made great strides in their mission; representatives developed an anesthesia for animals in 1918 and successfully administered it to a horse during an operation to repair a broken kneecap. In 1961, ASPCA veterinarians performed open-heart surgery on a dog. Individuals interested in learning more about ASPCA should visit www.ASPCA.org. About the Author: Even before founding Farber Legal, LLC, in 1991, attorney Mindy Farber had broken ground in the legal field. Mindy Farber helped alter the epilepsy laws in Washington D.C. and represented the plaintiff in the country’s first transgender discrimination case. She has also published a case study concerning English language proficiency rules for employment.

• Broadway: An Early History, By Mindy Farber April, 2012 For the last 30 years, I have practiced law in Montgomery County, Maryland. In 1991, I founded my own practice, Farber Legal, LLC, where I focus on employment and labor law. Over the course of my career, I have accepted and won landmark cases such as first transgender discrimination case in the U.S. However, I find time to pursue a few hobbies and interests outside of work, and one of these is attending Broadway musicals. The Broadway theatre district in New York City began to take shape over 200 years ago. New York lacked a substantial theatre presence until 1750. That year, Walter Murray and Thomas Kean, veteran actor-managers, opened a resident theatre company that presented the works of venerable playwright William Shakespeare, as well as ballad operas. Unfortunately, theatre’s growing popularity was halted in 1775 when the American Revolutionary War began. By 1798, theatre in New York had rebounded, more popular than ever. That same year, Park Theatre, a 2,000-seat edifice, opened on Park Row, formerly Chatham Street. The Bowery Theatre followed in 1826, with more theatres opening in following years. With new theatres came new forms of the art. During the 1830s, a type of entertainment known as blackface minstrel became popular among audiences. The Virginia Minstrels, a group of American entertainers known for their elaborate costumes and energetic performances, further bolstered the growing minstrel trend through the 1840s. In 1849, working-class theatergoers at a major venue started a fight with wealthier members of the audience in protest of their perceived snobbery. This and other incidents led to the segregation of the city’s entertainment; the lower classes frequented the cheaper minstrel shows, while the middle and more affluent classes attended operas. Around the same time, Shakespeare’s work surged in popularity thanks in large part to Edwin Booth, an American actor best known for his performances in Hamlet. Today, Broadway continues to entertain audiences with eclectic shows focusing on the musical and thespian talents of expert performers and storytellers. About the Author: Attorney Mindy Farber provides legal counsel for clients in labor and employment law cases. In 1991, Mindy Farber founded her practice, Farber Legal, LLC, in Bethesda, Maryland. In addition to her work with her clients, she enjoys going to Broadway musicals, spending time with her family, and traveling.

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