For Time’s Up co-founder Robbie Kaplan, the movement sprung from a series of changes to the law which dissuaded attorneys from taking on sexual harassment cases.
“One, the Supreme Court’s decision in the Walmart case, which really limited class actions in this area,” she explained in an interview with Cheddar on Thursday, International Women’s Day. “Two, the use of arbitration clauses, which don’t allow employees to go to court.”
And finally, the standard for a hostile work environment, “which basically requires employees to show that there was severe, pervasive, repeated conduct, and that’s often a high standard to meet.”
All these factors together kept many cases out of the court system, especially for women who were not in high paying jobs or who did not have what she calls “embarrassment cases,” those that would shame wealthy or high-profile individuals.
And that’s exactly what her Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund hopes to change.
“The real goal...was to create a market incentive so that lawyers would want to bring those cases.”
Naturally, the support of celebrities from Reese Witherspoon to Shonda Rhimes helps the cause.
“Already what’s happened is that they’ve changed the dynamic and changed the culture,” said Kaplan.
She pointed to a recent example where a woman who worked at a warehouse in Yonkers, New York, received $11.7 million in punitive damages in her sexual harassment lawsuit.
“We haven’t seen anything like that ever,” said Kaplan. “That’s a direct result of Time’s Up and #MeToo.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/times-up-co-founder-on-the-progress-of-womens-rights).
If you have some older comic books stashed away in your attic, basement or closet, make sure to check their condition as they could be traded for serious cash. Cheddar News' Michelle Castillo at New Yor Comic Con spoke with Chris D'Lando, event manager with NYCC for Reedpop; Andy Mourat, co-founder and president of MetaZoo; and Julian Montoya, senior vice president of The Noble Collection, to get their thoughts.
Susan Akkad, senior vice president of innovation at Clinique, a finalist in the anti-aging category for the CEW Beauty Awards, joined Cheddar News to demonstrate some products to care for your skin as you age and how that is part of your overall healthcare.
Special prosecutors said Tuesday they are seeking to recharge actor Alec Baldwin in the 2021 fatal shooting on a Western movie set in New Mexico by presenting evidence to a grand jury.
They are playfully called the “forgotten five”: A handful of toys — the pogo stick, the Fisher-Price Corn Popper, My Little Pony, PEZ dispensers, and Transformers — that regularly approach toybox royalty as finalists for the National Toy Hall of Fame, only to be tossed back on the pile.
Taylor Swift's concert tour has dominated the box office in recent days and it's also the top-grossing concert film of all time here in the U.S. But a conversation on social media raised questions about movie etiquette and videos shared show film audiences singing, shining their phone flashlights and dancing in the aisles.
