By a vote of 53 to 47, the Senate today confirmed the appointment of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court, making her the first Black woman justice to serve on the high court in its 233-year history. All 50 Senate Democrats and three Senate Republicans voted in good faith to confirm her appointment. Justice Jackson’s historic confirmation is a culmination of her decades in public service as a Supreme Court clerk, public defender, District Court Judge, and most recently judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) celebrates this profound milestone in our nation’s history, and we congratulate Justice Jackson on her well-deserved achievement.
The United States needs judges on the bench who have a diversity of backgrounds, informed by real-life experience. The Supreme Court is the final word on many issues that profoundly affect the lives of working people, including those who have been victims of wage theft, workers who have experienced unjust harassment or discrimination, and those who face dangerous and unsafe conditions in their workplace.
NELA has long advocated for demographic and experiential diversity on the bench – both are crucial to ensuring that workers have a fair shot at justice. With Judge Jackson’s appointment, the nation is closer to a Supreme Court that is reflective of the people it represents and understands the real-world consequences of the cases before them, including those affecting our nation’s workers.
All workers deserve justice. We are proud to have supported Justice Jackson’s nomination and her commitment to upholding equal justice for all, which will impact the lives of people of all backgrounds, for this generation and for generations to come.