NELA

Empowering Workers' Rights Attorneys

Press Release

The National Employment Lawyers Association Urges Senate Judiciary Committee To Reject Confirmation Of Amy Coney Barrett To Supreme Court

For Immediate Release
Contact: Andrea Hansen
(509) 306-1867
ahansen@flyingcrow.com

Barrett’s Record Clearly Shows Her To Be A Threat To The Working People Of This Country.

Washington, D.C. – October 15, 2020 – The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), the nation’s largest legal association whose members exclusively or primarily represent workers, strongly opposes the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court. The organization is urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject Barrett’s confirmation in what has been a desperate play to jam through another conservative judge to stack the deck against everyday Americans.

NELA conducted a comprehensive review of Barrett’s record as a circuit judge and found that she sided with corporations and employers over working people in more than 80 percent of employment-related cases. Barrett’s abysmal record includes cases in which she:

  • Concluded that a Black employee who was called the “N word” in his workplace had not established that he faced a hostile work environment.
  • Voted against rehearing a case that upheld a defendant’s practice of assigning employees to driving routes based on their race.
  • Ruled that the “disparate impact” provision of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act does not apply to job applicants, only to current employees.

In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsay Graham and Ranking Member Diane Feinstein, NELA stated, “Reasoning of the type found in many of Judge Barrett’s opinions undermines workers’ ability to vindicate their rights and undercuts the promise of a fair and just American workplace that is embodied by the employment statutes enacted by Congress.”

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About the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA)

Founded in 1985, the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) is the nation’s largest bar association whose 2,000 members exclusively or primarily represent workers to ensure the preservation of their rights. The organization provides continuing legal education, works to ensure a fair judiciary, and advocates for laws and policies that promote justice for workers. NELA members have represented tens of thousands of individuals who have experienced injustice in the workplace, including discrimination, harassment, and wage theft.