The Honorable Patty Murray, Chair
Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
428 Senate Dirksen Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Richard Burr, Ranking Member
Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
428 Senate Dirksen Office Building United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Re: National Employment Lawyers Association Endorsement of Karla Gilbride for General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Dear Chair Murray and Ranking Member Burr:

The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) writes to express our strong support for the nomination of Karla Gilbride to serve as General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Ms. Gilbride has dedicated her career to ensuring equal access to justice under the law, and she has an exceptional record as a litigator and advocate for workers, which she would bring to bear as General Counsel at EEOC.

Since 1985, NELA has been the premier professional membership organization for lawyers that represent workers in labor, employment, and civil rights disputes. NELA members litigate in every federal district and circuit, advocating for equality and justice for workers across the country. NELA members routinely work with the EEOC to enforce anti-discrimination law and protect the rights of workers.

Ms. Gilbride is eminently qualified to serve as General Counsel of the EEOC. In her hearing before the Senate HELP Committee on September 13, Ms. Gilbride’s responses demonstrated her deep knowledge of the issues for which the EEOC has responsibility and her strong commitment to the mission of the agency. In addition, her measured and thoughtful temperament and approach to problem-solving were evident.

Ms. Gilbride has extensive experience as a litigator for the protection of workers’ rights at every level of the federal judiciary. For over 15 years, she has represented workers across industries — from migrant farmworkers to women in the finance industry to prison employees. She has represented many different clients, from many walks of life, but her mission is always the same — to enforce workers’ rights to safe and equitable working conditions under the law.

Ms. Gilbride started her law career at Disability Rights Advocates, bringing cases on behalf of students and residents to ensure equal access to course materials, professional licensing exams, and emergency services. She continued that work at the law firm of Mehri & Skalet, PLLC, where she also brought cases under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect her clients from workplace discrimination based on religion, race, and sex.

Ms. Gilbride’s commitment to fair and equitable treatment under the law is evidenced in her consumer and wage and hour litigation efforts as well. In her current role as the Access to Justice Co-Director at Public Justice, Ms. Gilbride recently argued and won a unanimous decision at the U.S. Supreme Court. The case involved a collective action filed by an hourly employee of a Taco Bell franchise against her employer alleging violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act for failure to pay overtime wages. The employer engaged in the litigation for nearly eight months before attempting to force the employee out of court and into a binding, confidential arbitration process. The Eighth Circuit sided with the employer. In an important ruling for workers and consumers, the Supreme Court reversed the Eighth Circuit, holding that the Federal Arbitration Act “does not authorize federal courts to invent special, arbitration preferring procedural rules,” like the one used against the fast-food worker in this case.

Ms. Gilbride is a strategic advocate who takes a holistic approach to pursuing policy goals. In keeping with her holistic approach, Ms. Gilbride is focused on solutions and will appropriately consider solutions to systemic problems that focus on education, training, and systemic reform in addition to, or alongside litigation efforts. Ms. Gilbride is also extremely well-equipped to coordinate regional and field office litigation at EEOC to maximize enforcement of federal employment anti-discrimination laws in harmony with the broader strategy of the agency.

Ms. Gilbride’s exceptional experience, qualifications and temperament, as well as her commitment to fairness and justice for working people will make her an exceptional General Counsel at the EEOC.

The importance of this agency to working people across the country cannot be overstated. NELA strongly urges the Senate to promptly confirm Ms. Gilbride. If you have any questions, or would like to discuss these comments further, please contact Laura Flegel at lflegel@nelahq.org .

Laura M. Flegel
Legislative & Public Policy Director                        

Jeffrey A. Mittman
Executive Director