SOCIAL JUSTICE BLOG
Read and share the extraordinary stories from the frontlines of social change
Class Action Breaks Pattern & Practice of Discrimination For 67,000 Women
Ms. McConnell was terminated from her store manager job at Sterling after objecting to blatant sexual harassment and was told by her district manager that she could not fight Sterling because “you are only one person.” Ms. McConnell replied, “It only takes one.” McConnell filed her initial charge with the EEOC without an attorney and sought help from the federal government. Other Plaintiffs, like Dawn Souto-Coons, became fed up with the continued denials of promotion opportunities and the unfair pay she was experiencing, and reacted by getting angry and then hiring experienced class action attorneys to assist her. Ms. Souto-Coons said, “I was so mad, it was just an old boys’ club.”
Class Action Brings Justice For Students With Disabilities Unnecessarily Held in Restraints and Seclusion
I decided to take a stand when my own eight year old (at the time) came to me in fear of my punishing her, to tell me that she thought she had been abused at the school and didn’t think it was right and wanted to put a stop to it. When she came to me, she felt as though I was not only aware that it was being done, but also that I agreed with it. In disbelief I decided to make it clear to my daughter that not only was I not in agreement with her treatment, but that I wouldn’t tolerate it for anyone else. It only took an instant for me to decide to take on this battle for as long as I was needed.
People With Disabilities Triumph Over Discrimination in Foreign Service
The State Department denied me the Class 1 medical clearance necessary to begin a position with the Foreign Service. The agency's only reason was my “diagnosed neurological condition,” based on my 1994 multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis. They did not consider whether my MS would affect my ability to perform the essential functions of a Foreign Service Officer, but rather thwarted my career based on stereotypes about MS.
Class Action Brings Relief To Black Students Unfairly Targeted For Suspension
A 2018 study by San Diego State and UCLA researchers confirmed Sacramento's record of suspending Black students more frequently. In response, we decided to organize a Parent Listening Session to understand how our Black families were coping with the issues identified in the report. I didn't expect much turnout on a Saturday morning and attended out of mere curiosity. One by one, parents shared their harrowing experiences. The stories were powerful and deeply moving. By the end of the session, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. The neglect and mistreatment these families endured at the hands of the district was heart-wrenching. The idea of a lawsuit, which had been lingering in our minds, became a definitive decision by the end of the meeting.
Rather Than Sitting Silently, These Heroes Raised Their Voices To Fight For Better Health Care In West Virginia Jails
John, Earl, Joshua, Heather, and Donna all experienced significant barriers when trying to access the medical or mental health treatment they required while incarcerated in West Virginia’s regional jails. Rather than sitting silently and enduring this poor medical care, they raised their voices to fight for better care for themselves and everyone in the jails. Their words, like their commitment in this case, reflect the passion they have brought to this work from day one.
Class Action Heroes Take Courageous Stand For Economic Justice and Human Rights
Against the backdrop of a national public health and economic crisis, Congress passed the CARES Act, providing a stimulus payment of up to $1,200 for eligible individuals. Despite the clear statutory language, and the fact that incarcerated people disproportionately come from communities suffering from the greatest levels of poverty, the IRS invented an additional restriction excluding any incarcerated person from eligibility notwithstanding the predictable dire impacts on incarcerated people and their families. Plaintiffs Colin Scholl and Lisa Strawn courageously came forward to challenge those restrictions in a lawsuit resulting in one of the largest recoveries for an intentionally excluded economic class.
Google Employees Champion Equal Pay, Challenge Gender-Based Discrimination On Behalf Of 17,000 Class Members
Kelly, Heidi, Holly, and Kelli championed the claims of approximately 17,000 class members alleging that Google was paying women less than men performing substantially similar work and assigning women to lower salary levels than men with similar qualifications and experience. All four named plaintiffs took the risk that they would be blackballed in the tech field by putting their names on the publicly filed docket.
Three Brave Content Moderators Take On Facebook On Behalf Of Thousands In Historic Class Action
Selena, Gabriel, and Erin represented a class of over 14,000 content moderators who were denied protection against severe psychological and other injuries resulting from viewing objectionable postings while working on behalf of Facebook through third-party agencies. The role and plight of content moderators is endemic across the social media landscape. All of us need to monitor and support them.
Hunger Relief Heroes Ensure Most Vulnerable Households Receive Critical Food Benefits
Despite overwhelming bipartisan support for Emergency Allotments, the USDA and the Trump Administration were thwarting the intent of the COVID relief passed by Congress. They were playing politics with people’s hunger. That is why I decided to take a stand and together with my co-plaintiff Robin Hall sue the USDA to make Emergency Allotments available for everyone. As the fight to protect the safety net programs like SNAP ramps up, it should give us all hope that the Western Center on Law & Poverty and the Impact Fund are working to make sure that programs stay fair, just and equitable.
Class Action Hall of Fame, Class of 2022: Title IX Champions for Equality in Women's Sports
As the case worked its way through the legal system, my teammates and I learned more and more about the history of women and sports, Title IX, the promises that had been made yet not fulfilled and the injustices that exist(ed) everywhere. We realized that this case was about much more than just getting our gymnastics team back. We became Title IX warriors.
Civil Rights Hero, Artie Lashbrook, Posthumously Inducted to Impact Fund Class Action Hall of Fame
Artie fulfilled his duty as a class representative despite tremendous adversity in his personal life. During the course of the negotiation, Artie experienced periods of homelessness, living with his partner in their minivan. He also faced serious health problems requiring hospitalization, the amputation of his other leg, and extended stays at rehabilitation facilities. Artie could have easily given up on the case. But he didn’t.
I Wanted Them To Have Justice, To Be Heard And Healed
I thought no one would believe me if I told anyone what happened that day. He was a doctor, I was a 22-year-old student. My real horror that day was guilt. After he assaulted me, over the next 25 years, he assaulted thousands of other women.
Stunned by the Wall Street culture of harassment, one brave woman says "no" and becomes a Class Action Hero.
Overnight, I was locked out of my accounts, stripped of my livelihood and my office was relocated to the deep hinterlands of the building where I was isolated from coworkers who no longer acknowledged me, left with only a small box of belongings and my dignity. At that moment I decided I would never, ever let them see me cry. I had two choices, put my tail between my legs and run or stand my ground. I didn’t have anything more to lose; there was only one choice, stand back up.
Class Action Hero: Denied Mental Health Care, Patrice Makes A Stand For Human Rights
Although acutely suffering mental instability, I never lost the ability to discern what was just. I strongly believed an injustice was occurring that directly and negatively impacted the entirety of my life and those of countless others. I also believed that so long as these things went unchallenged myself and others would continue to suffer. Not only did I want to change what happens within the prisons, I also wanted to raise public awareness of mental illness in relation to solitary confinement – the criminalization of mental illness within the prison walls.
A Class Action Hero Fights To End Gender Discrimination In High School Sports
We female athletes realized how much we were being wronged and we stood together to fight for what was right. It still baffles me that softball facilities were allowed to deteriorate while facilities used by male athletes were so much better. At the time, we truly were not aware that there was a law that protected our rights as female athletes to have equal opportunities, treatment, and benefits, nor were we aware that our rights were being violated. But we quickly learned and began exercising our rights.