Contact: Laura M. Flegel
Legislative & Public Policy Director
(202) 898-2880, ext. 115
lflegel@nelahq.org

House Passes The FAIR Act To End Forced Arbitration

Time For The Senate To Act!

NELA applauds the passage of the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act (FAIR Act) today in the U.S. House of Representatives. We thank Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA) who introduced the bill in the House and has been a steadfast leader in this fight. Passage of the FAIR Act in the House is a major milestone that brings us closer than ever before to ending the insidious and pervasive corporate practice of forcing workers and consumers to waive their rights to go to court when they are victims of corporate wrongdoing.

This is a huge victory for working people who, increasingly, have been subject to the whims of corporate employers with no recourse for illegal treatment. Forced arbitration was invented by corporations to shield themselves from accountability for illegal treatment of their employees. As plaintiffs’ employment lawyers, we believe the best way for corporations to protect themselves from liability is to invest in and prioritize compliance with the law and fair treatment of workers.

NELA has been a leader in the fight to … Read More

September 10, 2019

Dear Senator:

On behalf of the 4,000 members of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) and its circuit, state, and local affiliates across the country, I write to express our strong opposition to the confirmation of any judicial nominee who refuses to acknowledge that the landmark, unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education was correctly decided.

Over the last year, dozens of judicial nominees have declined to answer a question that countless nominees before them responded to simply and unambiguously. Those who cannot respond decisively in the affirmative to the correctness of the holding in Brown have sent a clear signal that they cannot be counted upon to protect individual civil rights, or adhere to the rule of law. A nominee who cannot affirm that “separate but equal” is a gross distortion of our founding principles is not fit to serve as a federal judge, whose responsibility it is to protect principles and individual rights that are sacred to our democracy.

The decision and the understandings embodied in Brown are at the core of our nation’s civil rights laws; separate is inherently unequal. As a senator, everyday working people are the majority of your constituents. … Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Laura Ware, Flying Crow Creative
lware@flyingcrow.com
(206) 650-2539
If you are looking for legal help, please click here.

National Employment Lawyers Association Announces
Executive Director Departure

OAKLAND, CA — The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) and its education and advocacy arm, The NELA Institute, today announced the upcoming departure of Executive Director Terry O’Neill. O’Neill will continue in her role through August 31.

“It has been a privilege to lead an organization representing thousands of the brightest minds in the legal field advocating for those who often do not have a voice,” O’Neill said. “I am confident that, with our board leadership and talented staff, the organization will continue to see much success.”

… Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Terry O’Neill
Executive Director
(415) 296-7629
toneill@nelahq.org

NELA Lauds U.S. Supreme Court Decision Protecting Workers’ Access To Justice

(Oakland, CA) – The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) and The Employee Rights Advocacy Institute for Law & Policy (The NELA Institute) are thrilled with the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision today in Fort Bend County, Texas v. Davis. In holding that Title VII’s charge-filing requirement is not jurisdictional, the Court is ensuring that workers with valid claims will not be denied access to justice because they failed to check a box on a form. Moreover, unscrupulous employers will not be able to delay or wholly avoid accountability late into a lawsuit based on a technicality in the filing paperwork. We congratulate Lois Davis, the plaintiff in the case, and her attorneys at Wright Close & Barger in their important victory for all workers.

NELA and The NELA Institute filed a brief as amici curiae in the case. We express our deep appreciation to Michael L. Foreman and the Penn State Law Civil Rights Appellate Clinic, who served as principal drafters of the brief. Today’s result will help ensure that a harmed employee who has suffered … Read More

Download Letter

Submitted Via Email

To The Members of the United States House of Representatives:On behalf of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), I am writing to urge you to vote in favor of passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 7) and to oppose any motions to recommit and any harmful amendments when the bill is brought to a vote on the House floor.

NELA advances employee rights and serves lawyers who advocate for equality and justice in the American workplace. NELA provides training and support to lawyers in protecting the rights of employees who are at a great disadvantage in any employment dispute because of the virtually unlimited resources of their employers. With members in every state, NELA is the country’s largest professional organization exclusively comprised of lawyers who represent individual employees in employment discrimination cases and other employment-related matters. NELA and its 69 state and local affiliates have more than 4,000 members across our nation. Our members are private civil rights lawyers specializing in employment matters who regularly confront the practical realities of illegal pay discrimination. They know that in the current economic climate it is more important than ever that no worker be shortchanged.

The Paycheck … Read More

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Submitted Via Email

Re: National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) Opposes Nomination of Michael Park to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Dear Senators:

On behalf of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), and its 4,000 circuit, state, and local affiliate members across the country, we write to express our strong opposition to the confirmation of Michael Park to the United States Circuit Court for the Second Circuit. NELA is the largest professional membership organization in the country comprised of lawyers who represent workers in labor, employment, and civil rights disputes. Founded in 1985, NELA advances employee rights and serves lawyers who advocate for equality and justice in the American workplace. Our members litigate daily in every circuit, affording NELA a unique perspective on how employment cases actually play out on the ground and an accurate understanding of the profound impact of the judiciary on the daily lives and the rights of working people.

Because of the profound effect of the federal judiciary on the lives of working people, NELA is invested in ensuring that lifetime appointments to the federal judiciary will adhere to the rule of law, especially in matters of civil rights and the … Read More

March 5, 2019

Contact: Terry O’Neill
Executive Director
(415) 296-7629
toneill@nelahq.org

Download Statement

Statement Of NELA Executive Director Terry O’neill In Support Of The EMPOWER Act

“Day in and day out, NELA lawyers stand up for employees who are waging their own fight against sexual harassment and/or other forms of workplace discrimination to which they were subjected. Today we are proud to support the Ending the Monopoly of Power Over Workplace Harassment through Education and Reporting Act (“EMPOWER Act”), a bipartisan bicameral bill introduced by Senators Harris and Murkowski and Representative Frankel.

The EMPOWER Act would lift the all-too-prevalent, employer-mandated secrecy surrounding workplace harassment and discrimination. The bill would establish a confidential tip line allowing the EEOC to collect data on where in the country and in what industries workplace harassment is occurring. The bill would also require publicly traded companies to disclose information about workplace harassment settlements, which will promote greater transparency, safer work environments, and more accountability on the part of those in power.

“Harassment and discrimination persist because employers have virtually unlimited power to silence employees who speak up about illegal treatment on the job. The EMPOWER Act would stop employers from silencing survivors of workplace abuse, … Read More