Brigid A. Harrington

Overview

Brigid Harrington is an experienced and accomplished Employment & Labor attorney with a depth of experience assisting higher education clients with matters involving civil rights compliance including Title IX, VAWA, ADA, Title VI, Title VII, and other laws and regulations related to discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, and retaliation. Brigid has worked with institutions to draft compliant non-discrimination and harassment policies and procedures, has conducted numerous investigations into Title IX and other civil rights matters, and has trained faculty, staff, and students on their obligations as members of a college or university community.

Brigid helps clients navigate complex labor and employment issues and defends employers facing claims in the state and federal courts of Massachusetts, as well as claims made to the federal Department of Education or Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination or other regulatory bodies. She also provides support to employment litigation and counseling cases and disputes, representing employers across all major industries concerning discrimination and retaliation, non-competition, trade secrets, wage-and-hour and other complex employment-related issues.

Brigid has received certifications from ATIXA in Title IX Administration and Title IX Athletics Compliance, and has received training in Title IX compliance from the Student Conduct Institute at SUNY.

As part of her work at Bowditch, Brigid is editor of the firm’s Campus Counsel blog.

Before Bowditch

Prior to joining Bowditch, Brigid was the Director of Civil Rights at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, where she managed a staff of investigators and deputy coordinators and implemented a new Title IX Policy and sexual and gender-based harassment process to ensure that policies, investigations, and trainings were in compliance with federal and state law. She also worked at Harvard University as an Investigator for the Office of Dispute Resolution. Prior to her work in higher education, Brigid was an Assistant District Attorney in New York City.

Besides work

Brigid is a sponsor/volunteer at Citizens for Juvenile Justice and Rosie’s Place. She’s also an avid skier and is trying to get back into running.

Affiliations

Member, Committee on Virtual Programming, National Association of College and University Attorneys
Member, Society for Human Resource Management
Member, Boston Bar Association
Member, Massachusetts Bar Association
Member, Women’s Bar Association
Member, New York Bar Association
Member, Essex County Bar Association

Articles + Talks

Articles

“EEOC Issues Regulations Pursuant to the Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act,” Bowditch, August 8, 2023
“Supreme Court Blocks Use of Race in College Admissions,” Bowditch, June 29, 2023
“DOE Issues Proposed Rules on Athletics and Gender Identity,” Bowditch, April 7, 2023
“Federal Court Rules that Tax-Exempt Private Schools Must Comply with Title IX,” Bowditch, July 25, 2022
“Department of Education Issues Proposed Changes to Title IX Regulations,” Bowditch, June 23, 2022
“Pandemic-Caused Shift to Remote Learning Has Led to Novel Civil Rights Issues,” New England Board of Higher Education, February 22, 2022

Talks

“How the Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Decision Could Impact Businesses’ DEI Policies,” Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, September 26, 2023
“The Supreme Court on Campus,” Bowditch Higher Education Roundtable Series, Boston, MA, September 2023
“Breaking Down the Supreme Court’s Block on Race-Based Affirmative Action in College Admissions,” Bowditch, July 12, 2023
“Economics of Higher Ed,” Boston Business Journal, Boston, Massachusetts, March 9, 2023
“Investigations – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” Bowditch Employment Law Update, February 16, 2023
“Accommodation Requests in a Post-Pandemic World” (Higher Education Roundtable Series), Bowditch, South Hadley/Worcester/Boston, Massachusetts, October and November 2022
“2022 Proposed Title IX Regulations: What You Need to Know,” Bowditch, July 19, 2022
“Title IX: How to prepare for the new rules on handling sexual misconduct,” Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, July 13, 2022
“Mental Health on Campus,” Boston Bar Association’s Higher Education Legal Conference, April 28, 2022 (Moderator)
13th Annual Employment Law Update – Part 2, Bowditch, February 2, 2022

Bar Admissions

U.S. District of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
New York

Education

J.D., Boston College Law School, cum lade
B.A., International Relations, University of Pennsylvania, magna cum laude

Experience

Policy Drafting

Brigid has drafted policies and procedures for addressing sexual and gender-based harassment that comply with the 2020 Title IX regulations, and the 2021 Massachusetts Campus Sexual Violence Act. She has also drafted employee and student conduct policies, including “ethical relationships” policies governing romantic or sexual interactions between university employees, or between employees and students, and policies regarding use of service and emotional support animals on campus.

Investigations

Brigid has conducted numerous civil rights investigations, including Title IX matters, matters involving non-Title IX sexual misconduct, and matters involving harassment or discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, and/or disability. Brigid’s investigations have included claims against students, staff, and faculty members at educational institutions. Brigid conducts her investigations in a thorough and prompt manner, and has handled many sensitive investigations, including matters that received national media attention. In conducting investigations, Brigid is careful to handle all information gathered with appropriate discretion and professionalism.

Accommodations and Supportive Measures

Brigid has worked to coordinate individualized supportive measures in Title IX and sexual misconduct cases, and has drafted and overseen procedures for religious and/or disability-based accommodations in the workplace. Most recently, Brigid oversaw the implementation of a process for determining whether exemptions to an employer’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement were warranted as religious accommodations.

Title IX and Sexual Misconduct Process

Brigid has used her expertise and in-depth understanding of the 2020 Title IX regulations and requirements of the Massachusetts Campus Sexual Violence Act to guide institutional compliance in case management, training, agreements with outside service providers or law enforcement agencies, and reporting to state and federal agencies. Brigid is also familiar with the NCAA, NSF, NASA, and other organizations’ requirements for sexual harassment training, policy dissemination, and reporting requirements for investigations of student athletes.

MCAD/EEOC Representation

Brigid has represented employers in claims for discrimination, harassment, or retaliation filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Training

Brigid has provided Title IX, VAWA, and Massachusetts -compliant training on harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment and retaliation; reporting obligations of employees; NCAA and NSF-complaint training; training for confidential resource providers; and bystander intervention training.

Insights + News