Phoebe Wolfe is an associate in Cohen Milstein Civil Rights & Employment practice, where she focuses on complex litigation challenging discrimination in employment and housing.
Prior to joining Cohen Milstein, Phoebe was a Litigation Fellow at the National Women’s Law Center, where she worked on litigation and amicus briefs aimed at advancing the Center’s mission across intersecting legal issues that affect women, particularly in the workplace. She also has experience as a Public Interest Fellow at Tycko & Zavareei LLP, a class action plaintiffs law firm. As part of her fellowship, Phoebe spent several months at Public Justice, one of the nation’s foremost plaintiff advocacy and litigation organizations.
During law school, Phoebe was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and senior editor of the Columbia Law Review.
- New York
- District of Columbia
- Columbia Law School, J.D., 2018
- William E. Macaulay Honors College of the City University of New York, B.A., 2015
- Litigation Fellow, National Women’s Law Center (2020 – 2022)
- Public Interest Fellow, Tycko & Zavareei LLP (2018 – 2020)
Current Cases
Apple Gender Pay Discrimination Litigation
Jong, et al. v. Apple Inc. (Cal. Sup., S.F. Cnty.): Cohen Milstein is representing current and former female Apple employees in a putative gender pay discrimination class action. Plaintiffs claim that since 2020, Apple has violated California’s Equal Pay Act and Fair Employment and Housing Act by systematically paying women lower wages than male employees who perform substantially similar work.
Louis, et al. v. SafeRent Solutions, et al.
Louis, et al. v. SafeRent Solutions (D. Mass.): Cohen Milstein represents individual plaintiffs and the Community Action Agency of Somerville against SafeRent Solutions (formerly known as CoreLogic) in a putative Fair Housing Act violation (FHA) class action. Plaintiffs allege that SafeRent, which provides tenant screening services to landlords and property managers, has been violating the FHA and related Massachusetts state laws because its tenant screening software algorithm disproportionately gives low scores to Black and Hispanic rental applicants who use federally funded housing vouchers, causing them to be denied housing. In 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development filed a statement of interest in this case. On April 25, 2024, the court granted preliminary approval of a $2.275 million settlement and significant injunctive relief.
Rasmussen, et al. v. The Walt Disney Company, et al.
Rasmussen, et al. v. The Walt Disney Company, et al. (Cal. Sup., L.A. Cnty.): Cohen Milstein represents a certified class of current and former female employees of The Walt Disney Company and all Disney subsidiaries in gender pay equity dispute. Plaintiffs allege that Disney pays women workers in California tens of thousands of dollars less than their male counterparts in violation of California’s Equal Pay Act. On November 25, 2024 plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary approval of a $43.25 million settlement. The terms of the settlement also include a number of best practices, including benchmarking jobs to external market data and organizing jobs within Disney's job architecture.
Past Cases
Cynthia Allen, et al. v. AT&T Mobility Services LLC
Cynthia Allen, et al. v. AT&T Mobility Services LLC, Case (N.D. Ga.): Cohen Milstein represented plaintiffs in a putative Title VII employment discrimination class action against AT&T Mobility LLC (AT&T) for violating the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The lawsuit also included individual Title VII, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Family and Medical Leave Act claims on behalf of the named plaintiff.
U.S. Customs & Border Protection Agency Pregnancy Discrimination Litigation
Gabaldon, et al. V. Mayorkas, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (EEOC): Cohen Milstein represented U.S. Customs and Border agents in a certified class action against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, in which plaintiffs claim that the agency and its implementation of the temporary light duty policies discriminate against pregnant agents in violation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. On August 13, 2024, a class of over 1,000 agents reached a historic $45 million settlement, which includes an agreement by the agency to enact sweeping reforms to policies that will eliminate long-standing discriminatory practices.
November 26, 2024
Disney Agrees to $43M Deal to Settle Class Action Over Women’s Pay
The company has also agreed to hire experts to address compensation disparities impacting roughly 9,000 women who said they’re being paid less than their male counterparts for similar work. Disney will pay $43.25 million to settle a class action from roughly 9,000 female employees in California accusing the company of pay discrimination. Under the deal, […]
In the News | The Hollywood Reporter
November 25, 2024
Women Reach $43.25M Settlement in Disney Gender Pay Discrimination Class Action
LOS ANGELES – Today, class representatives of current and former female employees of certain Disney-related companies in California filed a motion for preliminary approval of a $43.25 million settlement in a gender pay discrimination class action. Filed in 2019, the women claimed that Disney deprived the class of millions in wages. Disney’s actions, the women […]
Press Releases | Cohen Milstein
August 16, 2024
Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout-Outs
Shout-out to lawyers at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll and Gilbert Employment Law who secured a $45 million settlement from Customs and Border Protection on behalf of 1,000 employees who claimed the agency discriminated against pregnant workers. Plaintiffs initially filed the lawsuit in 2016 with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. They claimed CBP forced […]
In the News | ALM/Law.com
August 13, 2024
Customs & Border Protection Employees Reach $45 Million Settlement After Uncovering Widespread Pregnancy Discrimination
The settlement includes a number of major reforms to the agency after members of a class of over 1,000 employees challenged a widespread practice of involuntary removal from active duty because of pregnancy, resulting in lost wages and causing them emotional harm. WASHINGTON, D.C. – A class of over 1,000 employees of Customs and Border […]
Press Releases | Cohen Milstein
June 14, 2024
Apple Punishes Women for Same Behaviors That Get Men Promoted, Lawsuit Says
Apple could owe thousands in back pay to 12,000 female employees. Apple has spent years “intentionally, knowingly, and deliberately paying women less than men for substantially similar work,” a proposed class action lawsuit filed in California on Thursday alleged. A victory for women suing could mean that more than 12,000 current and former female employees […]
In the News | Ars Technica
June 14, 2024
Apple Hit With Gender Discrimination Suit by SF Lawyer Who Won $118 Million From Google
The plaintiffs, who still work for the Bay Area tech giant, are hoping to win money for 12,000 California women. Two Apple workers launched a major gender discrimination lawsuit against their employer Thursday, accusing the Bay Area tech giant of willfully paying thousands of California women less than men for similar work. Plaintiffs Justina Jong […]
In the News | SFGate
June 13, 2024
Female Apple Employees File Gender Pay Discrimination Class Action
Lead plaintiffs represent a potential class of more than 12,000 women in Apple’s engineering, marketing, and AppleCare divisions in California. Women claim that Apple systematically relies on pay expectation and prior pay information before joining Apple, to pay them less than male employees who perform substantially similar work. San Francisco, CA – Today, plaintiff-side powerhouses […]
Press Releases | Cohen Milstein
April 30, 2024
Rental Applicants Reach $2.28M Settlement Agreement for Discriminatory AI-Powered Screening Tool
“The changes SafeRent has agreed to make are key to ensuring the original intention of the nation’s voucher programs, helping to erase historic discrimination in the housing markets,” said Brian Corman, a partner at Cohen Milstein who leads the firm’s fair housing litigation efforts and helped negotiate the settlement. What You Need to Know Rental […]
In the News | Law.com
April 26, 2024
Rental Applicants Using Housing Vouchers Settle Ground-Breaking Discrimination Class Action Against SafeRent Solutions
On April 25, 2024, the United States District Court of Massachusetts allowed a $2.275 million settlement on behalf of Massachusetts housing voucher recipients to move forward, certifying the settlement classes and directing notice to be sent to class members. The Court will hold a final approval hearing in November. The settlement, if finally approved, will resolve a lawsuit against SafeRent Solutions, a national tenant screening provider formerly known as CoreLogic Rental Property Solutions, claiming that SafeRent’s algorithmic tenant screening program (the “SafeRent Score”) disproportionately harmed housing voucher recipients, including Black and Hispanic individuals, under Massachusetts law protecting individuals based on their source of income and race. In July 2023, the Court denied SafeRent’s motion to dismiss the Plaintiffs’ Fair Housing Act (FHA) and Massachusetts Discrimination Law claims.
Press Releases | Cohen Milstein
December 15, 2023
Cohen Milstein Team Among Legal Lions of the Week
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Andrus Anderson LLP, and Goldstein Borgen Dardarian & Ho made Law360’s Legal Lions of the Week list after a California state judge on Dec. 8 certified a class of at least 8,900 women who say The Walt Disney Co. paid them less than their male colleagues, rejecting Disney’s argument […]
In the News | Law360
December 11, 2023
Disney Employees Secure Class Certification in Gender Pay Class Action
For Immediate Release Judge also grants plaintiffs’ request to unseal discovery materials LOS ANGELES, CA – The Honorable Elihu M. Berle of the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles granted in part plaintiffs’ motion for class certification in Rasmussen, et al. v. The Walt Disney Company, et al., a gender pay […]
Press Releases | Cohen Milstein
July 4, 2023
Disney Shorted Women Middle Managers $150M, Workers Say
The Walt Disney Co. has paid its women employees in middle management at least $150 million less than men in substantially similar positions, according to a lawsuit filed by a group of current and former Disney employees, who on Friday asked a Los Angeles judge for class treatment. The women, who first filed the proposed […]
In the News | Law360