The Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center

Home Depot to Enhance Sign Language Interpreters for California Workers

Groundbreaking Settlement A Model for Providing Equal Opportunity

A major settlement has been reached between Home Depot and deaf and hard of hearing workers in California who claimed they were discriminated against on the basis of their disability. Final approval of the class action settlement was entered by United States District Court Judge Lucy Koh on February 2, 2012.

As part of the settlement, Home Depot will provide sign language interpreters at key workplace events such as interviews, trainings, performance review meetings, disciplinary meetings, safety meetings and mandatory store-wide meetings. Home Depot has also agreed to ensure that visual alarms for emergencies are in place at retail stores where class members are employed and to provide technology devices to improve communication with deaf and hard of hearing associates. Home Depot has further agreed to ensure that class members are eligible for forklift training and certification on an equal basis as their non-disabled counterparts, provided minimum safety requirements may be maintained. Read more

February 1: National Girls and Women in Sports Day

February 1, 2012, marks the 26th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day! The team staffing Fair Play for Girls in Sports, a project of Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center, joins coaches, parents, park and recreation departments, school districts, and athletic leagues across the country in celebrating the many positive benefits that girls and women gain from playing sports.

This year’s national Girls and Women in Sports Day also marks the 40th anniversary of Title IX—the law that prohibits sex discrimination in educational and school sports programs receiving federal funding. Over the past 40 years, Title IX has enabled millions of young girls to play sports on a level playing field. But there is more work to be done. Despite the fact that Title IX has been operative for four decades, girls today receive 1.3 million fewer opportunities to participate in athletics than do boys.

Similarly, girls have been granted the right under California law (AB2404) to equality in athletic opportunities in programs sponsored by their local Parks and Recreation departments. But the promise of this law too has not been realized.

Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center launched Fair Play for Girls in Sports to ensure that girls in grades K–12 have the full benefit of these two laws. If you think girls who are enrolled in your local high school or who participate in your local Parks and Recreation department sports programs are not being given an equal opportunity to play and you would like additional information about these laws, you can contact us at 877.593.0074.

To learn about the work we are doing on behalf of girls in low-income communities visit our Fair Play for Girls in Sports page. You can also visit us on Facebook, for all of the latest news on girls in sports.

Judge Denies Federal Motion to Dismiss in Defense of Marriage Act Case

On January 26, 2012, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California rejected the federal government’s request to dismiss the constitutional claims of gay and lesbian state workers who, together with their registered domestic partners, are excluded from equal access to California’s Long-Term Care Program.

Last year the court rejected a similar motion to dismiss the claims of gay and lesbian state workers who were married in 2008 following the California Supreme Court’s ruling that the state constitution mandated marriage equality and before the enactment of Proposition 8. The January 26 order considered for the first time the claims of couples who are in registered domestic partnerships with the state of California, but who did not marry in 2008. Read more

Motion for Summary Judgment Filed in Defense of Marriage Act Case

Lawyers for Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center and Zelle Hofmann Voelbel & Mason LLP have filed a motion for summary judgment against the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service and the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) on behalf of gay and lesbian state workers, together with their spouses and registered domestic partners, who are denied equal access to California’s long-term care insurance program for public employees and their families. Read more

Stand Up for Justice – January 18

Join the legal community, judges, labor and others at our rally to support adequate court funding for the justice system. On Wednesday, January 18th at noon, the rally takes place in downtown Los Angeles on Grand Avenue, in front of the Disney Concert Hall. Speakers will include Governor Gray Davis, Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno (ret.) and Senator Joe Dunn (ret.). A statement from Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and Assembly member Michael Feuer will be presented. Read more

January is National Stalking Awareness Month

Every year, 3.4 million people over age 18 are stalked in the United States.

Stalking often occurs at work, and all too often jeopardizes victims’ employment. One in eight employed stalking victims has missed work because they feared for their safety or needed to seek a restraining order or testify in court.

Project SURVIVE helps ensure that victims of stalking, domestic violence or sexual assault can keep their jobs while seeking safety or medical or legal help.

For more information, call our toll-free SURVIVE helpline at (888) 864-8335. Or see our fact sheets, videos, and other resources.

NLRB Rules that Employees are Entitled to Bring Employment-related Claims as Class or Collective Actions, in Court or Arbitration Proceedings

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—the federal decision-making body that oversees relations between labor unions and private employers—recently declared that employees must be allowed to pursue their workplace grievances through collective or class-wide actions, whether it be through litigation or arbitration. Read more

Free Workers’ Compensation Clinic in English and Spanish

On January 31, the Workers’ Rights Disability Law Clinic will host a free Workers’ Compensation clinic. Volunteer Workers’ Comp attorneys from Worksafe will provide free counseling on Workers’ Comp issues. Spanish-speaking attorneys will be available.

The clinic is by appointment only; please call 415-864-8848.

Women’s Rights Groups Ask Department of Education for a Title IX Review of Penn State

Following the recent allegations of sexual abuse at Penn State University, ten of the nation’s leading civil rights and women’s rights advocacy organizations have formally asked the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to undertake a Title IX compliance review of how the university handles allegations of sexual harassment, especially against athletes. The letter was signed by the Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center along with representatives of Women’s Law Project, California Women’s Law Center, Legal Voice, Equal Rights Advocates, Equity Legal, National Women’s Law Center, Women’s Sports Foundation, American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, and Southwest Women’s Law Center. See the full request letter

Settlement Reached in Landmark Civil Rights Case

Immigrant Workers Fired on Basis of Unnecessary English Test in 1998

Twenty-three immigrant women workers who challenged English proficiency tests announced a settlement in their landmark federal civil rights case against a major multinational corporation. In the course of two trips to the U.S. Supreme Court, Rivera v. Nibco, Inc. created important national legal precedents and strengthened the rights of immigrant workers to bring claims of workplace abuse against their employers. Read more

Professor Pam Karlan to serve as Special Counsel to Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center

The Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center is very pleased to announce that Professor Pam Karlan, one of the nation’s preeminent constitutional law experts, will serve as Special Counsel to the organization. Read more

LAS–ELC Launches New Project: Fair Play for Girls in Sports

In order to promote the health, well-being, education, and employment opportunities for low-income girls in grades K–12, the Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center has established a new project: Fair Play for Girls in Sports.

Helping to make this possible is a generous grant from John and Terry Levin and the Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation of California. This gift is to fund a two-year Fellowship named after John and Terry Levin. We are pleased to announce that Tamika Butler has been selected as the Fellow. Read more

California Supreme Court Grants Review of Anti-Immigrant Worker Decision

On Wednesday, November 16, 2011, the California Supreme Court agreed to review a lower-court opinion in a civil rights case that will have a broad impact on the rights of immigrant workers in California.

In its Petition for Review to the California Supreme Court, the LAS–ELC argued that the lower court had ignored well-established laws ensuring that all workers are fully protected by California’s labor and employment laws but also U.S. Supreme Court precedent preventing employers from evading responsibility for violating their workers’ rights simply because they may find evidence of unrelated employee wrongdoing. All seven California Supreme Court justices voted in favor of reviewing the case. Read more

A Video Introduction to the Workers’ Rights Disability Law Clinic

Watch a video report from The Recorder on the newly launched Workers’ Rights Disability Law Clinic, at the Ed Roberts Clinic in Berkeley. The new Clinic is a project of the Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund and is now providing a full array of free counseling, advice, support, referral and employment-related legal services to workers and job seekers with disabilities every Tuesday night.
Watch the video

Disability Workshop In Spanish

The Worker’ Rights Disability Law Clinic will host a free public workshop in Spanish:

For more information, please call 415-864-8848 or email . If you are requesting communication services, please notify us 5 days in advance.

The Workers’ Rights Disability Law Clinic is sponsored by the Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.

LAS–ELC Staff Attorney Explains Meal Break Laws on Radio Show

Fernando Flores of LAS–ELC’s Wage and Hour Enforcement Litigation Program (WageHELP) discusses legally mandated meal and rest breaks on KPCC’s AirTalk. The conversation comes as the California Supreme Court weighs the same issues in Brinker Restaurant Corp. et al. v. Superior Court of San Diego County. Listen to the episode

LAS–ELC’s Sharon Terman Selected for Miles L. Rubin Public Interest Award

We are very pleased to announce that Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center Senior Staff Attorney Sharon Terman is the recipient of this year’s Stanford Law School Miles L. Rubin Public Interest Award. The Award “recognizes an alumnus/a whose outstanding work has advanced justice and social change in the lives of vulnerable populations.”

Sharon’s entire career has been focused on advancing social justice. She worked at an array of public interest organizations as a law student; she accepted a Skadden Fellowship in 2005 to work in the LAS–ELC Gender Equity Program; and remained as a Staff Attorney where she now directs the LAS–ELC Work and Family Project. Read more

Governor Signs Bills Protecting Workers

This week, Governor Brown signed several important bills that protect the rights of low-wage workers, including:

• SB 299—Protecting Health Care Coverage for Pregnant Women and New Mothers
• AB 1236—Prohibiting the Mandated Use of the E-Verify System by Private Employers in California
• AB 1403—Recovering Costs of Court Interpreters for Indigent Persons
• AB 22—Curtailing Use of Job Applicant Credit Checks
• SB 459—Increasing Penalties for Willful Misclassification of Employees as Independent Contractors

The LAS–ELC strongly supported these bills. Read more

Laundromat Worker Sues for Wage Violations

A former solo laundromat attendant in Oakland is suing her employer, claiming gross violations of minimum wage and overtime laws. The plaintiff claims that she frequently worked over 12 hours a day for six and sometimes seven days in a row for as little as $2 an hour. “If proven, this would fall under the very definition of ‘wage theft’,” said Charlotte Noss, Skadden Fellow at The Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center. “We would have an unscrupulous employer taking advantage of a hard working employee and paying her next to nothing—with no regard to state or federal labor laws whatsoever.” Read more

Prison Guard Sues After Years of Harassment, Abuse

A female corrections officer is suing the Bureau of Prisons claiming the Bureau failed to stop years of harassment including physical abuse and death threats from a fellow corrections officer. The lawsuit was filed in Northern District of California on behalf of a correctional officer assigned to the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California. The suit alleges discrimination based on sex, sexual harassment and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The plaintiff is represented by the Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center and the law firm of Stewart & Musell LLP. See the News Release Read more

LAS–ELC Asks California Supreme Court to Protect Immigrant Workers

On Friday, September 16, 2011, LAS–ELC asked the California Supreme Court to reverse a lower court opinion that, if allowed to stand, could be a major setback for the rights of immigrant workers in the state.

By submitting a Petition for Review in the case, Salas v. Sierra Chemical Co., the LAS–ELC seeks to ensure that a landmark workers’ rights bill is given full effect. That bill, SB 1818, was passed by the California legislature in 2002 and declared that “[a]ll protections, rights, and remedies available under state law, except any reinstatement remedy prohibited by federal law, are available to all individuals regardless of immigration status who have applied for employment, or who are or who have been employed, in this state.” Read more

LAS–ELC President Joan Graff Named Among Women Leaders in the Law

LAS–ELC President Joan Graff has been named among 20 women legal pioneers in The Recorder’s inaugural listing of “Women Leaders in the Law.”

According to the newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief Scott Graham, “These living legends are firsts and founders—the first women partners at big law firms, the first (or second) women judges on their courts, the co-founders of influential organizations.” Drawing from outstanding San Francisco Bay Area women in the courts, academia, public and private practice and the social justice community, the publication identified legal trailblazers who had been attorneys for at least 35 years.

“It has been a privilege to do this important work over so many years,” said Ms. Graff. “And I am so very honored to be in such esteemed company.” The article also notes that the Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center “has notched countless high-profile legal victories for workers who couldn't afford their own attorneys, including undocumented workers faced with retaliation for asserting their workplace rights, women who faced employment discrimination because of their pregnancies, sexual harassment plaintiffs facing intrusive psychiatric exams, and HIV-positive people being threatened with the loss of their jobs.

See the article (PDF)

2010 Census: Disabled, Poor Workers Earning Less and Less

According to a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau, poverty rates are soaring in the United States as the poorest workers and disabled workers are experiencing some of the greatest declines in income in recent years. The report released this week—Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010—says that the bottom 10 percent of income earners in this country have seen their income decline by 12.1 percent in recent years, while the top 10 percent have experienced a decline of 1.5 percent in the same time frame. Households headed by a person with a disability saw their income decline by 8.5 percent in the last year. Read more

LAS–ELC Represents Alameda County Man Fired After Having a Seizure

On September 8, 2011, an Alameda County resident brought disability discrimination claims against Merritt Bakery, a 60-year-old restaurant and local institution in the Lake Merritt district of Oakland, California. The lawsuit alleges that restaurant worker Jerry Gallon was fired for having a seizure at work in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center is intervening on behalf of Mr. Gallon in a case filed by the EEOC in federal court. The lawsuit charges that after several hours of high-paced work filling large catering orders as well as orders from the restaurant diners, Mr. Gallon informed his manager that he felt a seizure coming on and that he needed to take a break from work and go home. His manager refused and Mr. Gallon suffered a series of seizures and was hospitalized. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Gallon was fired. Download the News Release Read the News Release

LAS–ELC Welcomes New Staff Attorney and Launches Wage and Hour Litigation Program

The LAS–ELC welcomes new Staff Attorney Fernando Flores who will be directing our new Wage and Hour Litigation Program.

The LAS–ELC’s Wage and Hour Litigation Program was launched to address an ever-increasing need for clients whose wage and hour cases were appropriate for litigation. Building on the success of the LAS–ELC’s Claims Project, which provides information, assistance and representation to clients with wage and hour claims at the California Labor Commissioner, the new Wage and Hour Litigation Program will now provide representation to clients in all aspects of wage and hour litigation, from initial fact investigation through filings in state or federal court.

Fernando comes to the Society from Centro Legal De La Raza where, as a Shartsis Friese Fellow, he supervised the employment law clinics. Prior to Centro Legal, Fernando was a Staff Attorney at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles where he litigated wage and hour claims and unemployment appeals, conducted community outreach and education, and trained counselors to represent clients in administrative proceedings.

The Employment Law Manual

We would like to extend special thanks to Kirkland & Ellis, LLP for printing the just-released 2011-2012 edition of the LAS–ELC’s Employment Law Manual. Updated annually, the 500+ page Employment Law Manual has become an essential reference tool for law students, staff, and volunteer attorneys who participate in the Workers’ Rights Clinic. The Manual includes substantive legal information on employment law topics including the federal Family & Medical Leave Act, employment discrimination, wage and hour laws and much more. It also contains practical information about the complaint process, sample letters for clients to use in correspondence with their employers and a complete referral guide for workers seeking help from government agencies and community organizations.

LAS–ELC Welcomes Two Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellows

The Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center is very pleased to welcome two Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellows—Julia Parish and Gina Gemello. We are delighted that Julia and Gina have chosen to bring their talents, skills and passion for justice to the LAS–ELC in service of the growing numbers of low wage clients in urgent need of assistance. Julia Parish will work with the Work and Family Project and Project SURVIVE; Gina Gemello will be the coordinator of the newly established Workers Rights Disability Law Clinic, to be housed at the Ed Roberts Campus in Berkeley, California. Read more

LAS–ELC Attorneys and Board Members named among Northern California Super Lawyers 2011

Claudia Center, Senior Staff Attorney and Director of the Disability Rights Program, was recognized by Super Lawyers this past July. She was cited as being “an outstanding lawyer who has attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.” Claudia was among the top 50 Women lawyers who received the highest point totals in the 2011 Northern California Super Lawyer nomination, research and blue ribbon review process. Senior Staff Attorneys Michael T. Gaitley, Director of Community Legal Services, and Christopher Ho, Director of National Origin, Immigration, and Language Rights Program, were also honored by Super Lawyers this year.

Additionally, LAS–ELC Vice President of the Board of Directors and Board Member since 1993, Elizabeth J. Cabraser was listed among the top 10 lawyers in Northern California. In total, twenty-eight members of the LAS–ELC Board of Directors were listed among the top lawyers. See the full list

Disabled Auto Workers To Benefit From $6 Million Settlement

NUMMI Plant Workers on Medical Leave Were Originally Excluded from Key Benefits. A $6 million settlement has been reached in a case brought by disabled auto workers who claimed they were unfairly excluded from severance benefits when the New United Motor Manufacturing (NUMMI) plant in Fremont, CA, shut its doors last year. A motion for preliminary court approval of the settlement was filed on August 18, 2011. If approved, the settlement will resolve a lawsuit—Cookson et al v. NUMMI, et al., C10-02931 CRB—that was filed in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, on July 14, 2010. The suit alleged that NUMMI and Toyota violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by denying bonuses and transitional services to qualified workers who were on leaves of absence due to their own medical conditions. Download the News Release Read the News Release

Persons with Mobility Impairments Now Ride Easier Across the Bay

Imagine you need to get to work, you’re waiting for the bus, you see it coming—and then it just passes you on by—because you’re in a wheelchair or scooter. This was a routine experience for Rachael Langston. But after almost a year of negotiations with AC Transit, a settlement was recently reached that will greatly help persons with mobility impairments travel between the East Bay and San Francisco.

Like many persons with mobility impairments, Rachael relies on public transportation systems to access local employment, healthcare, educational, and commercial resources. She uses AC Transit’s Transbay bus line to commute from her home in the East Bay to her job in San Francisco and back. Unfortunately, most of these Transbay buses feature complicated wheelchair lifts and seat latching procedures. Rachael routinely encountered drivers who did not know how to properly operate the accessibility features, buses with broken wheelchair lifts and latches, and open hostility from drivers. Often, bus drivers would see Rachael’s scooter and simply drive by without stopping.

Despite repeated attempts to resolve the issue through conversations with bus drivers, their supervisors and AC Transit’s customer support line, the pattern of discriminatory conduct continued unabated. With the help of Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center, a settlement was reached, which includes:

• Annual hands-on training for AC Transit drivers in the proper operation of wheelchair lifts ramps and seat latches on all models of MCI buses;
• Electronic monitoring will ensure that drivers now cycle the wheelchair lifts and ramps every day;
• Random checks of drivers assigned the MCI routes will ensure they are knowledgeable about the tasks required to properly board and disembark a passenger with a mobility impairment;
• Additional monitoring both by an outside committee and an independent monitor, as well as a robust dispute resolution procedure are now in place.

California Muslim Sues Abercrombie & Fitch Over Hijab Firing

A San Mateo Muslim woman who was fired for refusing to remove her religious head scarf, or hijab, has sued Abercrombie & Fitch, her former employer. The plaintiff, Hani Khan, was fired from her job at a Hollister Co. store at the Hillsdale Mall location, after working there for four months in 2009–2010. When she was initially hired in October 2009, Khan was told her hijab would not be in conflict with the company’s “look policy” so long as she wore it in company colors. But, in February 2010, managers asked if she could remove her hijab while working. Khan was suspended and then terminated when she refused to comply with the request.

“Abercrombie & Fitch cannot hide behind a “Look Policy” to justify violating Ms. Khan’s civil rights. Their refusal to accommodate her wearing her hijab is not only unlawful, but un-American,” said Araceli Martínez-Olguín, an LAS–ELC Staff Attorney.

The suit was filed by the Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center along with the Council on American Islamic Relations, in conjunction with a lawsuit filed by the San Francisco District Office of the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Download the Complaint Read the News Release

LAS–ELC Board Member Named as Pride Community Grand Marshal

Terry Stewart has been selected as one of the Community Grand Marshals for the San Francisco Pride Parade this year. Ms. Stewart, Chief Deputy Attorney for San Francisco, has been a member of the Board of Directors at the Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center since 1992. She is being honored for the work she has done, at the request and under the direction of City Attorney Dennis Herrera, to protect the rights of the LGBT community. Terry remarked: “I am honored and excited to have been selected as a 2011 SF Pride Community Grand Marshal. It has been my privilege to represent our community in the marriage equality litigation, and to be honored for it is the icing on a many-layered wedding cake.” Read more

Brown Bag Lecture Series Continues with Judge Hitchens’ Reflections on Her Career

The Elizabeth J. Cabraser Summer Brown Bag Lectures continued on June 21 with a thought-provoking discussion featuring The Honorable Donna Hitchens: “A Life in Law.” Regarded as a model of what a person can do with a law degree and a passion to create change, the recently retired jurist spoke about how her passion for social change contributed to her career as a civil rights advocate and San Francisco Superior Court Judge. Hitchens founded the Lesbian Rights Project (now the National Center for Lesbian Rights) shortly after law school to pioneer legal advocacy for the LGBT community. Read more

Wal-Mart Decision Could Result in More Workplace Discrimination

The United States Supreme Court’s June 20, 2011 decision in Wal-Mart v. Dukes could mean more discrimination in the workplace, said Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center President Joan Graff. “By making it more difficult to certify employment discrimination class actions, there will be more discrimination in the workplace.”

However, because the Supreme Court’s decision was based on an interpretation of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Congress could change the law in this area through legislation if it chooses to do so. “We hope that Congress will restore the ability to deter discrimination through the use of the class action procedural device. Employment discrimination class actions have been very effective in enhancing equal opportunity for women and people of color in our workplaces.”

Read the full statement on this Supreme Court case

Brown Bag Lecture Series Begins with Discussion of Criminal Background Checks

The Elizabeth J. Cabraser Summer Brown Bag Lectures got off to a great start this June. Entitled “Do Not (Re)Enter: The Impact of Criminal Background Checks on Communities of Color” panelists Dorsey Nunn, Linda Evans, Roberta Steele and Jessie Warner discussed the difficulties faced by individuals with any criminal record—for example, when applying for work, housing, insurance or loans—and how the system of background checks disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color. The panel not only informed the audience about the scope and limitations of the legal tools available to people with criminal records and the advocates who represent them but inspired and actuated the audience to challenge the structural discrimination faced by people who must disclose past convictions.

Throughout the summer, the LAS–ELC will host lectures and panel discussions on a variety of topics not only important to employment lawyers but to the wider public interest law community. The discussions are free, open to the public, and are approved for 1.5 hours of MCLE credit. We hope you will join us for the next talk on current legal and social issues. See the full lecture schedule

LAS–ELC Welcomes 2011 Summer Law Clerks

Each year, the Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center Summer Law Clerk program gives aspiring attorneys the opportunity to work with LAS–ELC program staff in assisting and protecting the rights of low-wage workers. This year, we are very happy to welcome ten students to our offices: Magdalena Guadalupe, Saira Hussain, Coreen Kopper, Shira Levine, Amy Martin, Arnulfo Medina, Christine Ness, Edris Rodriguez, Cora Rose, and Joseph Spadola Read more

Claudia Center Testifies Before EEOC on Leaves of Absence as Reasonable Accommodation

On June 8, 2011, LAS–ELC Director of Disability Rights Program, Claudia Center testified to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in Washington, DC on the topic of leaves of absence as a reasonable accommodation for working people with disabilities. “A leave of absence for treatment and recovery is one of the most common forms of accommodation sought by LAS–ELC’s clients with disabilities. A leave may be required for virtually any type of disability, but is commonly needed by our clients with cancer, psychiatric conditions, liver failure, kidney disorders, mobility disabilities, and on-the-job orthopedic injuries. The purpose of a reasonable accommodation leave of absence is to enable the employee to receive treatment (or training), recover and return to work—that is the essence of an effective accommodation,” said Center. Read more

Case update: Same Sex Couples, Domestic Partners Seeking Access to Long-Term Care Insurance

In Dragovich v. CalPERS, the Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center represents gay and lesbian employees of the state of California and their legally recognized spouses and domestic partners who have been excluded from equal access to the popular CalPERS long-term care program. The couples are suing CalPERS and the IRS to challenge the constitutionality of federal law that prohibits the enrollment of legally recognized same-sex partners. On May 2, 2011, the federal defendants filed a motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ claim on behalf of registered domestic partners. The plaintiffs opposed the motion on May 26, 2011 in a brief including original research articulating the animus repeatedly expressed by the Congress toward any legal recognition for the relationships of gay and lesbian employees, whether the relationship is marriage or domestic partnership. Read the LAS–ELC Brief to the U.S. District Court