Advocacy in Action: ERA Landmark Cases Since 1974, Equal Rights Advocates’ lawyers have used litigation to improve workplace and educational conditions for women and girls. Armed with legal know-how and brave, determined clients, ERA has made significant inroads in the fight for equality. Some of our landmark cases are featured here. Opening the Door to Equal Opportunity   San Francisco Firefighters  Until 1978, the city of San Francisco explicitly barred women from becoming firefighters. In fact, San Francisco was the only major city in the country without even one female firefighter. In 1984, ERA and its co-counsel sued the San Francisco Fire Department for discrimination in its hiring and promotion policies. The first woman entered the department in 1987, and in 1996, the first two female captains were appointed.  Today approximately 12% of the firefighters are women, making it a department with one of the highest percentages of women firefighters in the nation. U.S. Forest Service In 1973, Equal Rights Advocates filed a class action suit challenging the placement and promotion practices of the historically male-dominated U.S. Forest Service. Thanks to an 18-year legal battle, the percentage of women hired and promoted in the Forest Service rose dramatically: by 1992, the percentage of women in professional job categories increased from 12% to 37% in administrative job categories from 32% to 68%; and in technical job categories from 18% to 34%. Tradeswomen, Inc. In 1983 ERA and the Employment Law Center won a settlement on behalf of Tradeswomen, Inc. against the California Division of Apprenticeship Standards mandating specific procedures to enforce affirmative action for women in training and hiring for nontraditional jobs.    Fighting Sexual Harassment at Work and School   Restaurant Chain In McIntyre v. Main Street d/b/a TGIFridays, ERA successfully represented two African-American women, Tiffany McIntryre and Deneane Hibbitts, who had been sexually harassed and discriminated against because of their sex and/or race while employed at a TGIFridays restaurant in Oakland, California.  They each specifically allege that they were subjected to unwelcome sexual remarks, physical touching and requests for dates by one or more restaurant managers. They further allege that when each complained about the sexual harassment, they were retaliated against and denied better employment opportunities promised to them. They also assert that defendant did not adequately correct or remedy the sexually hostile work environment when they complained in violation of state and federal law. San Francisco Police  As a dedicated cop, Louette Colombano endured nine years of sexual harassment in an attempt to be “one of the guys.” But in 1984, she witnessed an incident that transformed her life. At a San Francisco Police Department Party, a prostitute was hired to have sex with a rookie cop. Louette decided enough was enough and went to the press. For breaking the police code of silence, she was subjected to a vicious campaign of retaliation and, in the end, forced out of the department. With ERA’s help, she sued and won a settlement worth nearly $800,000. Today, Louette is a tireless advocate for women’s equality and proud to be called a feminist.  Bank of America In 1978, ERA successfully represented a woman in a suit alleging sexual harassment by her supervisor in Miller v. Bank of America. This was the first Court of Appeals decision to uphold the right of employees to sue their employers for sexual harassment under Title VII. Petaluma Unified School District In January 1997, ERA and the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund successfully settled Doe v. Petaluma in the plaintiff’s favor for $250,000. Jane Doe, a middle school student in Petaluma, was the victim of 18 months of sexually harassing remarks and behavior by her peers. While school officials promised to end the harassment, they failed to do so; nor did they inform Jane or her parents of her rights under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools receiving federal funding. Perhaps most importantly, Doe was a case of “first impression,” meaning it set the standard for cases like it for years to come. This landmark case was the first federal court case in the country to recognize that student-on-student harassment is actionable under Title IX. Closing the Wage Gap   Allstate Insurance In the early 1970s, after Lola Kouba took a job with Allstate Insurance Company, she discovered that she was earning less than men with the same job. In fact, Allstate based employees’ salaries on prior income—since women traditionally earned less, Allstate’s women workers started a step down the wage ladder. As the named plaintiff in Kouba vs. Allstate Insurance Company, Lola was catapulted into the struggle for women’s equality. ERA helped her win a $5 million settlement for 3,400 women nationwide. Today, Lola is still a pioneer as the first woman claims director for a major California insurance company.  Protecting Workers’ Rights High-Tech Assembly Companies In October 2000, ERA and its co-counsel successfully settled a lawsuit on behalf of an electronics assembly worker in an action against two companies, Top Line Electronics and Lite-On Corporation.  The  companies where charged with wage and hour violations and health and safety violations.  The plaintiff, Kamsan Mao, a Cambodian immigrant, was instructed by Top Line Electronics to assembly parts at home.  He was paid by the piece for the homework and never received overtime compensation.  Mr. Mao also suffered severe health problems from not being given the proper protective equipment or safety training for performing work such as soldering.  In an unprecedented move, Top Line agreed to cease all industrial homework and comply with health and safety laws.  Moreover, Top Line agreed to pay Mr. Mao a monetary amount.   Tortilleria La Mejor ERA, along with its co-counsel, won a landmark federal district court case on behalf of Alicia Castrejon, a low-paid undocumented worker in a tortilla factory who was denied her job after taking a pregnancy leave. Her employer claimed that, as an undocumented worker, Alicia wasn’t entitled to the protections of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Even at the risk of being deported, Alicia fought back. Her faith paid off. ERA and its co-counsel won a landmark federal ruling affirming the rights of immigrants to fight discrimination. The court’s ruling resulted in thousands of undocumented immigrant workers receiving legal protection against discrimination.  Rubber Stampede In 1993, ERA filed a lawsuit on behalf of Maria Theresa Gonzalez, challenging her firing, her employer’s failure to provide workers with adequate ventilation and its failure to monitor their exposure to toxic fumes. After working at Rubber Stampede approximately six months, Ms. Gonzalez had been rushed by ambulance to a local hospital where doctors diagnosed her with acute chemical fumes exposure. Subsequent blood and urine tests revealed liver damage as well. Following the doctors’ diagnosis of her condition, Ms. Gonzalez filed a complaint with Cal/OSHA regarding her working conditions; she was subsequently fired by her employer. ERA’s case on behalf of Ms. Gonzalez was the first of its kind in Northern California to use the state’s anti-toxics initiative (Prop. 65) to challenge workplace conditions. Garment Workers In 1986 ERA joined the Asian Law Caucus and the Employment Law Center as co-counsel in Sai Chen Ha et al. v. T&W Fashions and Fritzi Manufacturing Corporation. The case successfully settled in favor of 13 garment workers who recovered unpaid wages, overtime and compensatory damages from the apparel manufacturer and its contractor. Currently, ERA and our co-counsel are settling a case brought by nine Thai and Latino garment workers in Los Angeles, who alleged that they were paid significantly less than minimum wage and no overtime while working at ASC Fashion (a sewing contractor for US Boys). The workers routinely worked long hours, including 10-13 hour days and weekends. Some workers charged that they had to both live and work in the factory, which was in deplorable condition. US Boys agreed to a monetary settlement of $200,000 and to monitor its contractors quarterly, inspect time and payroll records, interview employees of the contractor and determine whether the price paid contractors is sufficient to allow workers to be paid minimum wage and overtime. In addition, US Boys agreed to annual training of its employees regarding how to spot violations of wage and hour laws and to annual training of garment workers in contract shops regarding state and federal labor laws. Work/Family Issues  Pallas v. Pacific Bell After ten years of litigation and three and a half years of settlement negotiations, ERA and cooperating counsel finally settled Pallas v. Pacific Bell. ERA represented Lana Pallas in a pregnancy discrimination case against her employer, Pacific Bell, which had refused to grant her early retirement benefits. Ms. Pallas took maternity leave in 1972, but did not get service credit for the time she took off for pregnancy-related disability. At that time, employees who were disabled for any reason other than pregnancy DID get service credit for their time off. Without the service credit for her time on pregnancy disability, Ms. Pallas was a few days short of the service time required for early retirement eligibility. While it is impossible to predict the exact value of the settlement on behalf of over 10,000 women employees, it is estimated that its value will be well in excess of $25 million. ERA’s Historical Highlights