Jenny R. Yang

Partner

(202) 847-4413

My Legal Practice

I help workers challenge systemic discrimination in hiring, pay, promotion and other employment opportunities. I also focus on emerging legal issues tied to artificial intelligence and automated decision systems used in employment—areas where technology has the potential to impact civil rights on an unprecedented scale if left unchecked. As part of the firm’s government representation practice, I also work with state and local governments in enforcement actions.

My work begins when courageous employees come forward to address something that’s wrong in their workplace, whether it’s out in the open or hidden from sight.

Many times, my clients have raised concerns within their organizations only to be dismissed or retaliated against. They often feel like they did something wrong. I have often shared my mother’s story to remind them: it’s not your fault. You deserve respect and fairness. And you deserve someone who will fight alongside you.

I care deeply about employee rights and am proud to continue this work at Outten & Golden, where every day is a new opportunity to advance fairness and justice in the workplace.

Prior to joining the firm, I served as a Deputy Assistant to President Biden in the White House, advancing racial justice and equity, and as Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs at the U.S. Department of Labor, enforcing federal contractors’ equal opportunity requirements.

Before my service as EEOC Chair, I spent a decade representing workers in class civil rights and wage and hour actions, and five years as a trial attorney in the United States Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, Employment Litigation Section, where I prosecuted workplace discrimination cases against state and local governments.

Notable Matters

  • Represented about 29,000 female employees in claims against a manufacturer alleging sex discrimination in pay and promotion, recovering over $72 million and implementing changes in how the company determined and monitored salaries and conducted performance evaluations.
  • Represented approximately 70,000 women alleging a pattern of pay and promotion discrimination against a national jewelry company in a class arbitration proceeding that led to a $175 million settlement.
  • Represented 10,000 workers at a chicken processing plant, securing $10 million for unpaid time related to putting on and taking off required protective equipment.

*Representations from prior practice

Credentials

  • B.A.
  • J.D.
  • Licensed to practice law in
  • Executive Fellow of Applied Technology at U.C. Berkeley, where I engage with technology leaders to ensure that rapidly evolving AI-driven employment systems comply with our civil rights laws.

Discrimination often inflicts significant harm on a person’s economic potential, and their self-esteem.

-- Jenny R. Yang

My Story

In elementary school, I watched my mother come home drained from experiencing a discriminatory work environment. Even as a child, although I didn’t understand why bias or prejudice happened, I understood something was deeply wrong. Rather than accept it, she spoke out about the injustice. She left that job, went to law school, and became a judge.

Her journey taught me two things: discrimination is real, and we have the power to fight it.

I became a lawyer because I believed the law could be a force to promote dignity and fairness for all. That belief has carried me through three decades of civil rights work—from serving as Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to representing workers in class actions challenging systemic discrimination and wage theft affecting tens of thousands of employees.

Contact

Need legal advice?

(202) 847-4413

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