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National Employment Lawyers Association’s Department of Labor Proposals for First 100 Days

Biden-Harris Department of Labor Review Team
Chris Lu, Team Lead

Submitted electronically to Patricia Smith

Dear DOL Agency Review Team:

The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) welcomes the opportunity to share our recommendations for concrete steps that can be taken in the first 100 days under new leadership at the White House and Department of Labor (DOL). If implemented, these changes would advance the work of building an economy in which all workers are treated with dignity and respect; workplaces are equitable, diverse, and inclusive; and the well-being of workers is a priority in business practices.

NELA is the largest professional membership organization in the country comprised solely of lawyers who represent workers asserting employment, wage and hour, labor, and civil rights protections. NELA advocates for workers’ rights and serves lawyers who advocate for equality and justice in the American workplace. NELA and its 69 circuit, state, and local affiliates have a membership of over 4,000 attorneys who are committed to helping those who have suffered unlawful treatment in the workplace to use private law enforcement to vindicate their rights.

NELA members and staff have identified the following six areas, set forth below in which there is an immediate need … Read More

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NELA Comment On Proposed Rule: Update of Commission’s Conciliation Procedures

VIA Electronic Submission

Bernadette B. Wilson
Executive Officer, Executive Secretariat
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
131 M Street NE
Washington, DC 20507

Re:      Comment on Proposed Rule: Update of Commission’s Conciliation Procedures, 85 Fed. Reg. 64,079, RIN 3046–AB19

To Whom It May Concern:

The National Employment Lawyers Association (“NELA”) respectfully submits the following comments in response to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (“EEOC”) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Update of Commission’s Conciliation Procedures (the “NPRM”).

NELA is the largest professional membership organization in the country comprised of lawyers who represent employees in labor, employment, wage and hour, and civil rights disputes. NELA advances employee rights and serves lawyers who advocate for equality and justice in the American workplace. NELA and its 69 circuit, state, and local affiliates have a membership of over 4,000 attorneys who are committed to working on behalf of those who have been illegally treated in the workplace. NELA has filed numerous amicus curiae briefs before the United States Supreme Court and other federal appellate courts regarding the proper interpretation of federal civil rights and worker protection laws and comments on relevant NPRMs of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs). A substantial number of NELA members’ clients are charging parties at … Read More

NELA Comments On OPM Proposed Changes To The Back Pay Act

Michael Rigas, Acting Director
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building
1900 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20415-1000

Submitted electronically via www.regulations.gov

Re: National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA)’s Comments on U.S. Office of Personnel Management NPRM Regarding Attorney Fees and Personnel Action Coverage under the Back Pay Act:  RIN 3206-AN83

Dear Acting Director Rigas:

The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) respectfully submits the following comments opposing issuance of the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM’s) Proposed Regulation referenced above.

NELA is the largest professional membership organization in the country of lawyers who represent employees in labor, employment, wage and hour, and civil rights disputes.  NELA advances employee rights and serves lawyers who advocate for equality and justice in the American workplace.  NELA and its 69 circuit, state, and local affiliates have a membership of over 4,000 attorneys who are committed to working on behalf of those who have been illegally treated in the workplace.  NELA members frequently represent federal sector employees with claims under the Back Pay Act, and as a result have had ample experience in its practical operation and mechanics. Thus, NELA has both an interest in the proposed amendments and extensive expertise regarding the practical impact … Read More

NELA Submits Comments On Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking On Classification Of Independent Contractors Under The FLSA

Submitted via www.regulations.gov

Division of Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation
Wage and Hour Division
U.S. Department of Labor
Room S-3502
200 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20210

Re: RIN 1235-AA34, Comments in Response to Proposed Rulemaking: Independent Contractor Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act

To Whom It May Concern:

The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) is submitting these comments regarding the U.S. Department of Labor (“Department”)’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the status of independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

NELA is the largest professional membership organization in the country comprised of lawyers who represent employees in labor, employment, wage and hour, and civil rights disputes. Our mission is to advance employee rights and serve lawyers who advocate for equality and justice in the American workplace. NELA and its 69 circuit, state, and local affiliates have a membership of over 4,000 attorneys who are committed to working on behalf of those who have faced illegal treatment in the workplace. NELA has filed numerous amicus curiae briefs before the United States Supreme Court and other federal appellate courts regarding the proper interpretation of federal civil rights and worker protection laws and comments on relevant Notices of Proposed … Read More

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
… Read More

NELA Opposes The Confirmation Of SCOTUS Nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett

“Working people deserve better than Judge Barrett.”

NELA strongly opposes the appointment of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court. NELA, along with a sizable majority of Americans polled, believes that there should be no confirmation of the Court’s next Justice until after inauguration day in 2021. Early voting in the November election is underway; this important decision should be left to the next president and Senate, after the people have spoken.

A comprehensive review of Judge Barrett’s record makes it abundantly clear that she is a threat to the working people of this country and the civil rights protections for which so many have fought.

Judge Barrett’s decisions reflect an utter failure to grasp the realities of the workplace for regular, everyday working people. She sided with corporations and employers over working people in 83 percent of the employment-related cases reviewed.

These are just a few examples of Judge Barrett’s disregard for worker protections:

Barrett Upholds Racial Discrimination
Barrett authored the opinion in Terry Smith v. Illinois Department of Transportation, concluding that a Black employee who was called the “N” word in his workplace had not established that he faced a hostile work environment.
Barrett Upholds
… Read More

NELA And The Institute Call On JAMS To Examine Past Cases For Bias

BY ELECTRONIC MAIL

Mr. Christopher Poole
Chief Executive Officer, JAMS
5 Park Plaza Suite 400
Irvine, CA 92614

Re: Accountability for Racism at JAMS

Dear Mr. Poole:

The National Employment Lawyers Association (“NELA”) and its related charitable organization, The Employee Rights Advocacy Institute For Law & Policy (“The Institute”) write to express deep concern about the racist views that were circulated by and then defended as a piece worthy of discussion by former Judge Richard Neville, who was until recently a JAMS neutral. NELA and our 69 circuit, state, and local Affiliates, comprising over 4,000 members across the country, are following your response with interest. We note, the communications only came to light as the result of a public filing, NRA v. JAMS.

The writing that Neville circulated, which he sent out by email using a signature block identifying him as a JAMS neutral, has rightly been described as “abhorrent” and “indecent.” We further agree that it is shocking that a former member of the judiciary would disseminate such material and, when called on it, defend it as being worthy of discussion or consideration, without any direct rejection of the content. It is beyond credible debate that the content … Read More

The National Employment Lawyers Association Calls On JAMS To Examine Past Cases For Bias

For Immediate Release
Contact: Andrea Hansen
509.306.1867
ahansen@flyingcrow.com

Arbitrator’s dissemination of racist content exposes the threat of concealed prejudice among “neutrals”

Washington, D.C. – September 8, 2020 – The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), the nation’s largest legal association whose members exclusively or primarily represent workers, and its related charitable arm The Employee Rights Advocacy Institute For Law & Policy, are urging JAMS, a private dispute resolution provider, to conduct a full assessment of all discrimination cases overseen by Judge Richard Neville. Neville recently distributed via email to 39 recipients a racist essay contending the inferiority of Black Americans. He has since left JAMS.

As a JAMS neutral (arbitrator), Neville decided case outcomes, including employment discrimination cases, many of which are before JAMS instead of a court due to forced arbitration clauses imposed by employers on their employees. Now his neutrality on previous cases, particularly those related to discrimination or involving people of color, must be called into question due to his legitimizing of discriminatory beliefs. Neville’s willingness to share racist rhetoric with colleagues, including another JAMS neutral, under his JAMS email signature also raises concerns about whether the culture at the organization ignores or harbors racism.

While NELA and … Read More

The National Employment Lawyers Association Denounces Changes To EEOC Dispute Resolution Programs

Unilaterally rolled out by EEOC Chair, “pilot” projects hinder employee rights in discrimination cases

For Immediate Release
Contact: Andrea Hansen
509.306.1867
ahansen@flyingcrow.com

Washington, D.C. – August 17, 2020 – The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), the nation’s largest legal association whose members exclusively or primarily represent workers, today urged EEOC Chair Janet Dhillon to discontinue two pilot programs that limit the rights of those who suffer from workplace discrimination, such as sexual harassment or race discrimination.

The impacted programs – conciliation and mediation – are forms of dispute resolution intended to encourage settlement rather than litigation. Despite the EEOC’s mission to prevent and remedy unlawful employment discrimination, the proposed changes favor employers by limiting investigation, potentially hiding systemic discrimination on the part of a particular employer or industry, and weakening the employee’s ability to obtain relief from the discrimination and fair monetary damages.

While labeled “pilot” projects, with respect to the conciliation program the modifications were implemented nationwide, a departure from typical EEOC protocol. The pilots were executed unilaterally by Dhillon, without input from the other EEOC commissioners on the bipartisan commission. With respect to the changes in the mediation program, there is no plan to increase the number of … Read More

NELA Strongly Opposes Proposed Changes To EEOC Dispute Resolution Programs

Download Letter

Janet Dhillon, Chair
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Washington, DC

Via Email

RE: EEOC Conciliation and ADR Pilot Programs

Dear Chair Dhillon:

The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) respectfully writes to urge you to discontinue the Conciliation Pilot Project initiated on May 29, 2020 and the Mediation Pilot Project initiated on July 6, 2020 and to abandon the proposed changes to both the Conciliation and the Mediation programs at the EEOC. The changes contained in these pilots have profoundly limiting impact on the rights of working people who seek redress for workplace discrimination.

NELA is the largest professional membership organization in the country comprised of lawyers who represent workers in labor, employment, wage and hour, and civil rights disputes. NELA empowers workers’ rights attorneys through legal training, promoting a fair judiciary, and advocating for laws and policies that level the playing field for workers. NELA has filed numerous amicus curiae briefs before the United States Supreme Court and other federal appellate courts regarding the proper interpretation of federal civil rights and worker protection laws; provided comments on relevant Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs) for federal agencies whose policies impact working people; and engages in legislative advocacy on behalf … Read More