PRACTITIONER BLOG
Read our analyses of developments in Impact Litigation and stay current on class action law
Impact Fund & Amici to Florida Court of Appeals: Local Non-Discrimination Ordinances Must Be Respected
Today, we filed an amicus brief in the Florida court of appeals along with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Equality Florida, and civil rights firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC. We were joined by eight additional organizations representing LGBTQ people, workers, women, and other concerned communities. Our brief documents the ongoing discrimination faced by LGBTQ people, people of color, people with disabilities, and older people in Florida. It also describes the diversity of local human rights ordinances across the state that prohibit discrimination against vulnerable groups that are not protected by state law, including LGBTQ people, elderly tenants, veterans, survivors of domestic violence, and workers at small businesses.
California Supreme Court Ponders Digital Discrimination Case, White v. Square
Along with Disability Rights Advocates and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, the Impact Fund has written an amicus brief urging the California Supreme Court to recognize that turning users away through discriminatory terms of service or other actions is illegal discrimination, and that users who are deterred by discriminatory terms should be able to bring legal claims in court.
Historic Ruling Upholds Rights of American Muslims
Last month, we received a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in the case Hassan et al v. The City of New York that created the first precedent to suggest that American Muslims should be free from suspicionless surveillance based solely upon their religion, notwithstanding government claims of national security. The District Court had dismissed our challenge to the New York City Police Department’s Muslim spying program, which the Court of Appeals overturned in spectacular fashion.
Seventh Circuit Win For African-American Teachers
More favorable class action news to report from the Seventh Circuit. In an opinion by Judge Rovner, the Seventh Circuit reversed the denial of class certification for a class of African-American teachers alleging race discrimination arising from the Chicago School Board’s closure of 10 schools as part of its “turnaround” program. Chicago Teachers Union et al. v. Board of Educ. of the City of Chicago, 2015 WL 4667904 (7th Cir. Aug. 7, 2015). The decision interprets Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes to permit a challenge to a multi-step process, which includes both objective and subjective phases.