EPT Legal is a small, woman-owned, immigrant-owned firm specializing in preventing and resolving workplace issues through education, investigation, alternative dispute resolution, training, and coaching. Our team has a competitive edge because we are diverse in many ways. We have different ethnicities, races, and nationalities, including People of Color and people of European descent; different language…

What will replace the handshake? There is a lot written on the handshake, which is a greeting thousands of years old and practiced all around the world (except for the last few weeks). Theories of the handshake’s origin include: it shows friendship because it proves a person is not holding a weapon (at least not…

The Captain of the aircraft carrier USS Midway (now a naval museum in San Diego) was the highest ranking person on the ship. Even so, the Captain would not enter the Chief Petty Officer (CPO) cafeteria without express permission. He would instead ask to speak to a CPO, would wait outside and someone would go…

What opportunities exist now that did not exist before? I heard, due to the changes brought by the Covid crisis: *People with illnesses who previously had to take a leave of absence now are still engaged at work (by working remotely just like their co-workers) *Parents can provide support to their families and not miss…

Once a colleague and I were on a video call. We were in a conference room and a client was on the screen. I started noticing strange behavior from my colleague: Unnatural tilting of the head, posing almost, chair swiveling and theatrical pen chewing. The words that came to mind were “coquette” and “modeling.” I…

I once had a washing machine delivered. A huge and heavy appliance had to be brought up a tricky, narrow staircase by two workers. As the burly workers were huffing and puffing, they spoke to each other constantly throughout the precarious climb. Ready? Yep. Ok, lift! Be careful. Got it? No, wait…ok good now. Watch…

My daughter and I play the stereotype game. We call something out and then the other person describes in rapid fire the stereotype. Together we have covered New Yorker, doctor, lawyer (this one she describes as me), astronaut, politician, scientist, teacher (elementary/HS), American, author, person from Florida, pilot, Democrat, Republican, teenager, one who drinks soy…

“I can’t hear you.” By now you have all experienced this. You are on a videoconference and the sound (yours? theirs?) keeps cutting in and out. It’s frustrating. Maybe you fake it once or twice and give an answer that does not quite make sense. You are trying to follow, but can’t. They can’t hear…

My 12 year old son said, “I would like to take 2020 and throw it in the garbage.” While we review daily what we learned these last few weeks, and list opportunities to connect with people with an ease we just now are beginning to appreciate, it’s ok to identify the things we don’t like…

There is a Stop sign in the neighborhood I have lived in for 10 years. And for a decade, I felt like the sole person observing the Stop sign. My children from the back seat would ask me why I am stopping, and we would have the same conversation, over and over: “Because there is…