Photo of Laura Fant

Laura Fant is a special employment law counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-administrative leader of the Counseling, Training & Pay Equity Practice Group. Her practice is dedicated to providing clients with practical solutions to common (and uncommon) employment concerns, with a focus on legal compliance, risk management and mitigation strategies, and workplace culture considerations.

Laura regularly counsels clients across numerous industries on a wide variety of employment matters involving recruitment and hiring, employee leave and reasonable accommodation issues, performance management, and termination of employment . She also advises on preparing, implementing and enforcing employment and separation agreements, employee handbooks and company policies, as well as provides training on topics including discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Laura is a frequent contributor to Proskauer’s Law and the Workplace blog and The Proskauer Brief podcast.

On Wednesday, February 19, 2025, Acting Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) Chair Andrea R. Lucas announced the EEOC plans to target employers that “illegally prefer non-American workers,” as well as “staffing agencies and other agents that unlawfully comply with client companies’ illegal preferences against American workers” through increased enforcement of Title VII’s national origin protections.

In his inaugural address on Monday, January 20, 2025, President Trump declared, “We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based.”  In the days that followed, President Trump has proceeded to issue a series of executive orders in quick succession, many of which specifically seek to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) initiatives in

On Monday, January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government” (the “Order”).  The Order declares that the United States will only recognize two sexes, male and female, and states that these sexes are binary, biological, and “not changeable.” 

The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) has issued an opinion letter stating that employers cannot require employees to substitute accrued paid time off during a Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) leave where the employee is also receiving benefits under a state or local paid family or medical leave program.

The