News Clips
- November 10, 2011 Director of Employment Discrimination Project Presents Testimony on Credit Checks to D.C. City Council On November 9, 2011, the Lawyers’ Committee presented testimony at a hearing of the Committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs of the District of Columbia City Council in support of the objective of a proposed ordinance restricting access of employers to consumer credit history information.
- October 11, 2011 Lawyers' Committee and Partners Call for TransUnion to Stop Promoting and Selling Employment Credit Reports The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law joined with 24 other advocacy organizations on Tuesday in sending a letter calling for TransUnion to halt the sale and promotion of employment credit checks. The groups' action was prompted by TransUnion's efforts to lead the credit check reporting industry in fighting state legislation that would restrict the ability of employers to check the credit of job applicants.
- August 09, 2011 | Lawyers' Committee Lawyers’ Committee Joins Other Civil Rights Organizations in Brief Asserting that Parochial School Teachers are Not Categorically Exempt from Federal Statutes Prohibiting Employment Discrimination The Lawyers Committee joined seven other civil rights organizations in filing a friend-of-the-court brief in the Supreme Court case of Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church v. EEOC, No. 10-553.
- July 27, 2011 Lawyers Committee Joins 26 Other Advocacy Groups in Brief Asserting the Right of Employees to Pursue Workplace-Related Claims through Collective Action On July 27, 2011, the Lawyers Committee joined with 26 advocacy groups in filing a friend-of-the-court brief with the National Labor Relations Board in the case of D.R. Horton, Inc. v. Cuda. The brief argues that an employer’s imposition of a contractual provision prohibiting employees from pursuing workplace-related claims as collective actions or class actions violates the right of employees to engage in concerted activity with other employees, a right guaranteed by the National Labor Relations Act of 1937 (NLRA).
- July 26, 2011 | Employment Discrimination and Public Policy Projects Lawyers' Committee Encourages EEOC Vigilance in Battle Against Employment Discrimination on the Basis of Background Checks On July 26, the EEOC convened a hearing on Title VII violations resulting from employers’ misuse of criminal background checks. In support of the event, the Lawyers' Committee submitted testimony outlining the existing problems with such background checks and the disparate impact that they have on minorities while also encouraging the EEOC to vigorously enforce Title VII protections in cases of discriminatory misuse of criminal background checks.
- July 14, 2011 Lawyers' Committee Releases a Preliminary Analysis of the Implications of Wal-Mart v. Dukes on the Future of Employment Discrimination Class Actions The Supreme Court's decision on June 20, 2011, in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, 10-277, radically altered the long-standing judicial framework for assessing whether plaintiffs can bring cases as class actions. With this sweeping decision, the Court cast aside the traditional role that an appellate court is supposed to play in reviewing lower court decisions and set new rules for employment class action litigation. So, what will this decision mean for future employment class action cases?
- June 29, 2011 Lawyers' Committee Submits Testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee for their Hearing on "Barriers to Justice and Accountability: How the Supreme Court's Recent Rulings Will Affect Corporate Behavior" The Public Policy Department submitted a testimony statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee opposing the Supreme Court’s recent reinterpretation of Rule 23(a), governing class action certification. The hearing, convened by Senator Leahy, addressed possible congressional responses to the Court’s reinterpretation of legislative civil procedure rules in Wal-Mart v. Dukes and AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion.
- June 10, 2011 Lawyers' Committee Acknowledges the 48th Anniversary of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 While much progress has been made since the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, today we acknowledge the continuous discrimination that women experience in the workplace in regards to the compensation they receive for their work. On the 48th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act, join us in encouraging Congress to do more - ask your Congressional representatives to support the Fair Pay Act of 2011!
- June 07, 2011 Lawyers' Committee Celebrates Favorable Supreme Court Opinion in Fox v. Vice On June 6, 2011, the Supreme Court unanimously reversed an order that awarded attorney’s fees against a civil rights plaintiff because he had joined a frivolous federal claim with a clearly substantial claim under state law. The Court reiterated and amplified the standards for applying many federal civil rights statutes that contain provisions for fee shifting. The Lawyers' Committee supported Mr. Fox by joining an amicus brief.
- May 26, 2011 Lawyers' Committee Regrets Supreme Court Decision Upholding the "Legal Arizona Workers Act" The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law regrets the Supreme Court’s 5-3 decision on May 26, 2011, in the case of Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting. The Supreme Court’s decision upheld the constitutionality of an Arizona anti-immigrant law known as the "Legal Arizona Workers Act." That state law imposes sanctions, including rescinding of the right to do business in Arizona, for employers who employ unauthorized aliens and requires employers to verify that employees are authorized to work by using an electronic system which is so unreliable that 18% of the workers initially found ineligible through the system are in fact eligible to work.
- May 06, 2011 Lawyers' Committee Celebrates Favorable Ruling in Fourth Circuit Sexual Harassment Case The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on May 6, 2011, in the case of Harris v. Baltimore, reinstated a claim of workplace sex discrimination arising out of a workplace atmosphere that was highly sexualized and offensive. The Lawyers’ Committee supported Ms. Harris’ appeal along with other civil rights groups who joined an amicus brief prepared by the National Women’s Law Center.
- April 27, 2011 Lawyers’ Committee Regrets Supreme Court Ruling in AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law regrets the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision on April 27, 2011 that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts states from determining that a class action waiver provision in an arbitration agreement is unconscionable under state law and thus unenforceable.
- April 12, 2011 Equal Pay Day 2011: Acknowledging the Gendered Pay Gap Today, 48 years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women still make only 77 cents for each dollar that their male co-workers earn for performing the same job duties.
- April 12, 2011 Lawyers' Committee Applauds Maryland's Progress toward Preventing Discrimination on the Basis of Credit Checks On April 12, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley signed the Job Applicant Fairness Act, making Maryland the 5th state to pass legislation limiting the use of credit checks in the employment context.
- March 22, 2011 Lawyers’ Committee Applauds Supreme Court Ruling in Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp. Supreme Court rules that Employees Making Oral Objections to Violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (Minimum Wages and Overtime) are Protected from Retaliation
- March 01, 2011 Supreme Court Upholds "Cat's Paw" Theory in Case of Staub v. Proctor Hospital The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law applauds the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision on March 1, 2011, in Staub v. Proctor Hospital. The Supreme Court’s decision reversed that of the Seventh Circuit, which found that Proctor Hospital was not liable for anti-military employment discrimination against Vincent Staub because the hospital’s decision-maker had relied on more than the bias of two supervisors in determining to fire Mr. Staub.
- January 24, 2011 Supreme Court Upholds Right to Sue for Retaliation Based on Actions Taken Against Family Members and Close Associates of an Employee Complaining of Discrimination The Lawyers' Committee applauds the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision that Thompson, who claims he was fired because his fiancée filed a sex discrimination charge against their mutual employer, has the right to pursue a retaliation claim under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
- November 29, 2010 | National Law Journal Lawyers’ Committee Applauds EEOC’s Ambitious Agenda, Focus on Background Checks On November 29, 2010, the National Law Journal ran an article by Jenna Greene about the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the “ambitious” agenda of Chairwoman Jacqueline Berrien, an alumnus of the Lawyers’ Committee.
- November 23, 2010 | Miami Herald Miami Herald Reports on Lawyers' Committee and Outten and Golden's Appolon v. University of Miami Credit Checks Case New lawsuit contends that University of Miami credit history checks of job candidates discriminate unfairly against minorities.
- November 18, 2010 Senate Fails to Ensure Equal Pay for Women “The Paycheck Fairness Act is critical for economic recovery for 9.9 million single-parent families headed by women. The Act would close legal loopholes to ensure equal pay for equal work.”
- October 28, 2010 Employment Discrimination Project Held Convening on Credit Checks as the Next Wave of Hiring Discrimination On October 28, 2010, the Lawyers' Committee will hold an invitation-only Credit Checks Convening to involve policymakers, researchers, and employment law professionals in a discussion of credit checks in the employment process. The panel discussion topics will be "An Overview of the Facts, the Research, and Current Legal Protections," "The Need for Policy Change," and "Developing Effective Litigation Strategies."
- October 21, 2010 Lawyers' Committee's Sarah Crawford Testified before EEOC on October 20th EDP's Sarah Crawford spoke about employer use of credit history as a screening tool for employees and applicants.
- October 21, 2010 White House Releases Report on Jobs and Economic Security for America’s Women White House report reveals troubling racial disparities in unemployment rates for women, focuses on helping women.
- October 05, 2010 | Human Resource Executive Magazine Online Curbing Credit Checks On Sept. 23, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing to discuss the Equal Employment for All Act, a bill that would make it unlawful, with certain limited exceptions, to base adverse-employment decisions against prospective and current employees on consumer credit reports. The proposed legislation, authored by Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., is gaining support, says Sarah Crawford, senior counsel of the employment-discrimination project with Washington-based Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. "Congressman Cohen has been joined by 56 co-sponsors in the House, and we expect more will join him as awareness is raised on this important issue."
- September 23, 2010 Senior Counsel for Employment Discrimination Project Testifies before House Committee in Support of Equal Employment for All Act On September 23, Employment Discrimination Project Senior Counsel Sarah Crawford and Lawyers' Committee Board Member Adam Klein testified before the House Subcommittee on Financial Services and Consumer Credit in support of the Equal Employment for All Act, H.R. 3149.
- September 22, 2010 Lawyers' Committee Supports Paycheck Fairness Act "While Congress has been actively engaged in creating solutions to the economic crisis our country is currently facing, women experience continuous discrimination in the workplace in regards to the compensation they receive for their work. It is because of this discrimination that women still lag far behind their male counterparts in performance-based compensation forty –seven years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963." -- Public Policy Director Tanya Clay House
- September 10, 2010 Lawyers' Committee Seeks Title VII Protection for Retaliation Against Third Parties with Supreme Court Amicus Curiae Brief On September 10, 2010, the Lawyers' Committee joined with five other advocacy groups in filing an amicus curiae brief in the Supreme Court case of Thompson v. North American Stainless, No. 09-291. The case presents the question of whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits an employer from firing a worker in retaliation for another worker's charge of discrimination.
- September 08, 2010 Lawyers' Committee Asks Supreme Court to Strike Arizona Anti-Immigrant Law On September 8, 2010, the Lawyers' Committee joined twelve prominent civil rights organizations in filing a friend-of-the-court brief in the Supreme Court case of Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting, 558 F.3d 856 (9th Cir. 2009), petition for cert. granted 78 U.S.L.W. 3762 (U.S. June 28, 2010) (No. 09-115). The case challenges the constitutionality of an Arizona anti-immigrant law known as the "Legal Arizona Workers Act." The state law imposes sanctions on employers who employ unauthorized aliens and requires employers to use an electronic system to verify that employees are authorized to work.
- September 01, 2010 | Huffington Post Credit Reports Only Where Credit is Due Congressman Luis Gutierrez discusses the use of credit checks in the employment process. Lawyers' Committee Attorney Sarah Crawford participated as a panelist in the town hall meeting mentioned in this article.
- August 30, 2010 Lawyers' Committee Attorney Participates in Chicago Town Hall on Credit Checks Lawyers' Committee Attorney Sarah Crawford participated as a panelist in a discussion on the role of credit checks in the employment process.
- August 23, 2010 | MSNBC Background checks can offer bad history lesson An article on MSNBC.com discusses credit and background checks as a hindrance to employment and the fact that some victims are fighting back via lawsuits, an example being the Census case in which the Lawyers' Committee is co-counsel for the plaintiffs. The article also explores state and national efforts to limit the use of one or both types of checks for employment purposes.
- August 20, 2010 | Washington Post Class-action suit accuses Census Bureau of bias in job screening In a Washington Post article, columnist Joe Davidson writes about Precious Daniels, a plaintiff in the Census case, and the alleged discriminatory impact of Census hiring practices. Ms. Daniels was disqualified from employment with Census because of an arrest for participation in a peaceful healthcare protest. Charges against her were dropped. The Lawyers' Committee is co-counsel in the lawsuit, Johnson et al. v. Locke.
- August 17, 2010 | Radio One Indianapolis Employment Discrimination Project Director Audrey Wiggins Highlighted Access Campaign and Discussed Class Action Lawsuit Fighting Use of Background Checks By U.S. Census with Amos Brown Audrey Wiggins updated listeners on the class action lawsuit charging that the 2010 Census’ background check procedures discriminated against Black and other minority applicants for Census jobs. Recently, evidence was presented that the EEOC told the Census that their procedures violated the law. Wiggins also told listeners about the continuing problems of background and credit checks unfairly keeping those arrested and convicted of crimes years ago from gaining employment.
- July 13, 2010 | Black America Web News Lawyers' Committee's Audrey Wiggins Quoted in 'More Employers Running Credit Checks on Applicants' The Lawyers' Committee's Audrey Wiggins was quoted in an article dealing with the impact of background and credit checks on the employment prospects of minorities.
- May 25, 2010 U.S. Supreme Court Rules that Employers Can be Held Liable for Each Use of Results of a Discriminatory Test On May 24, 2010, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Lewis v. City of Chicago, ruling that employers can be held liable each time they use the results of a discriminatory test.
- May 19, 2010 | theGiro Are bad background checks keeping blacks out of work? Legislation Introduced to Address Inaccuracies in FBI Database and Criminal Information Released to Employers.
- April 26, 2010 Articles about the Census Hiring Discrimination Lawsuit Read what the media is saying about the Census Hiring Discrimination Lawsuit.
- April 26, 2010 Dukes v. Wal-Mart: Ninth Circuit Permits Historic Class Action Discrimination Case to Proceed against Wal-Mart The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, ruled 6-5 that approximately 500,000 current female employees of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. may proceed as a nationwide class action with their sex discrimination in pay and promotion claims under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
- April 26, 2010 Information about the Census Hiring Discrimination Lawsuit Follow the Census Hiring Discrimination Lawsuit on Facebook and Twitter, learn more, and tell us your story by accessing these links!
- April 20, 2010 | New York Times We Can't Tell You Why Notes “A new class-action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of applicants who say they were unfairly turned down for census jobs based on an opaque screening policy that relies on F.B.I. checks for any criminal histories. Those checks are notoriously unreliable. A 2006 federal report found that half of them were inaccurate or out of date.” Making a broader policy point, the editorial concludes: “States and cities are wisely revising employment policies. The federal government needs to develop a fair and transparent screening system for job applicants and a more effective appeals process. Congress must also require the F.B.I. to verify the criminal records — and find missing data before issuing background checks.” Congratulations to Board member Adam Klein whose firm, Outten & Golden, is co-counsel on this case and to Audrey Wiggins and Sarah Crawford of the Lawyers' Committee's Employment Discrimination Project.
- April 15, 2010 | Examiner.com Lawyers' Committee Instrumental in Announcement of POWER Act Lawyers' Committee Executive Director Barbara Arnwine and Public Policy Director Tanya Clay House joined Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. during an April14th Capitol Hill press conference to announce legislation that would strengthen worker and immigrant rights, the POWER Act (Protect Our Workers from Exploitation and Retaliation).
- April 14, 2010 | Washington Post Applicants with criminal records challenge census job-screening practices
- January 18, 2010 | New York Times Denied a Chance for Honest Work Access Campaign Applauds New York's Attorney General's Efforts to Address Discrimination against Former Offenders
- October 07, 2009 Former Lawyers' Committee Employment Discrimination Expert Testifies Before Senate Judiciary on Workplace Fairness Testimony of Professor Michael Foreman, Director, Civil Rights Appellate Clinic, Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University
- July 27, 2009 | Congressional Quarterly Race Gap: Still Hard At Work Executive Director Barbara Arnwine was quoted in the July 27th issue of Congressional Quarterly regarding the need for concentrated policy reforms to address growing disparities in jobless rates between whites and minorities.
- July 03, 2009 Lawyers' Committee's Sarah Crawford Quoted on Ricci Decision Calling the decision a "real head scratcher," the Lawyers' Committee's own Sarah Crawford explained that the Supreme Court's decision in Ricci "essentially ties employers' hands."
- July 02, 2009 Lawyers' Committee's Sarah Crawford Provides Expert Analysis on Ricci Employment Discrimination Project's senior counsel, Sarah Crawford, penned a thorough analysis of Ricci v. DeStefano for the American Constitution Society's blog.
- June 29, 2009 | Legal Times More Reaction to Ricci Decision
- June 29, 2009 | USA Today Supreme Court rules for white firefighters in promotions
- June 29, 2009 | NBC White New Haven firefighters win Supreme Court case
- June 28, 2009 | New America Media Still Invisible in The Labor Force
- April 28, 2009 Sound the Alarm ... Civil Rights, Still At Risk With the historic election of Barack Obama as this nation's first African American president, we still are in a time where we must "sound the alarm" and heighten awareness of the ongoing struggle for racial justice and equality across the country as never before. The racial contradictions in our society are in many ways peaking instead of waning. Nowhere is this truer than in this term of when the U.S. Supreme Court is slated to hear nine civil rights cases, almost a record number.
- April 23, 2009 High Court Hears Argument in New Haven Firefighter Case On April 22, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Ricci v. DeStefano. This important case marks the first time in decades that the Court will examine a public employer's consideration of race in hiring or promotions. Following up on an article that appeared on the American Constitution Society's blog (http://www.acsblog.org/), Sarah Crawford, Senior Counsel for the Employment Discrimination Project, reports on the argument
- March 26, 2009 | New Haven Independent Rights Groups Back Black Firefighters
- March 16, 2009 | Voice of America US Supreme Court to Rule on Important Challenges to Civil Rights Laws
- March 05, 2009 Audrey Wiggins on Panel Discussing the Arbitration Fairness Act
