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NELA Supports Confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to U.S. Supreme Court

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Dear Chairman Durbin, Ranking Member Grassley, and Committee Members:

On behalf of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), and its 4,000 national, circuit, state, and local affiliate members across the country, we write to express our strongest possible recommendation and our enthusiastic support for the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court. We are proud to support President Biden’s inspiring and historic choice in nominating Judge Jackson. As our nation’s highest court, the Supreme Court oversees federal action on workers’ rights, among the many matters addressed by the Court.

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 empowers workers’ rights attorneys through legal training, promoting a fair judiciary, and advocating for laws and policies that level the playing field for workers. Our members litigate daily in every federal district and circuit, affording NELA a unique perspective on the profound impact of the judiciary on the daily lives and the rights of working people.

First and foremost, NELA seeks to ensure that the judges who hear and render decisions in … Read More

An Extraordinary Moment For All Black Women and Black People, for All Women, and For All Working People

By Corinne A. Williams, National Institute for Workers’ Rights PHT Attorney Fellow

The confirmation of a Black woman to the Supreme Court will be a huge affirmation of what we already know to be true, that there are and have been scores of Black women who are more than qualified to serve on the Supreme Court in its 232-year history. Black women are some of the most brilliant and tactful jurists on the bench and there is a very long list of Black women attorneys who are powerful advocates in the courtroom, strong leaders in boardrooms, and brilliant thinkers in academic settings. There has never been a shortage of Black women who are deeply qualified to serve. But, despite the national treasure that we have in highly qualified Black women, there is an enormous lack of willingness of those in power to elevate us to positions of power and influence in this country.

This is an extraordinary moment—for all Black women and Black people, for all women, and for all working people. We are eager to see President Biden’s commitment to nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court fulfilled, because we know that this moment in history is not … Read More

A Victory for Workers—Bill Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Claims is Sent to President for Signing

Yesterday, the Senate passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (S. 2342). The bill gives survivors the chance to have their case heard in a court of law, rather than being forced into arbitration, away from public view. NELA and its public education and advocacy organization, the National Institute for Workers’ Rights (formerly the Employee Rights Advocacy Institute For Law & Policy), have worked for over a decade to end forced arbitration in the workplace. In 2009, the Institute coined the term “forced arbitration” following the release of significant public opinion research. Recently, NELA members from across the country lobbied for the end of this unjust practice during our 2021 Virtual Lobby Day. We look forward to the President’s signature on this historic piece of legislation.

NELA applauds the Senate for coming together in a unified and bipartisan fashion to support an issue that affects every segment of the workforce. We celebrate today’s victory, but this is not the end of our call to action. No worker, whether their claim relates to sexual harassment, stolen wages, or illegal discrimination based on race, disability, LGBTQ+ status, gender, or other reasons, should be denied the … 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

Letter To The Senate Judiciary Committee Opposing The Confirmation Of Amy Coney Barrett To The U.S. Supreme Court

Download Letter

Submitted Via Email

The Honorable Lindsay Graham, Chair
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
224 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Dianne Feinstein, Ranking Member
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
152 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Graham and Ranking Member Feinstein:

On behalf of the 2,000 members of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), I write to express our strong opposition to the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court. Our additional 2,000 circuit, state, and local affiliate members across the country are also watching this confirmation process with concern.

At the outset, we must raise our strong objection to the blatant Republican double standard surrounding this confirmation process. There should be no disagreement that the confirmation process for a United States Supreme Court nominee should be advanced in an honest, fair, and principled manner. One should not need to write a letter to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary underscoring that the rules that have been applied to a confirmation process of a Supreme Court nominee nominated by a Democratic president should be the same rules applied to a confirmation … 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