Equal Rights Advocates
March 2011 Newsletter
Help us raise $250,000 by March 31, 2011: Donate today!
ERA celebrates the historic 100th Anniversary of
International Women’s Day
Salon Series: Lecture Two
Featuring guest speaker Professor Rosa-Linda Fregoso
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
5:30 – 7:30 pm
180 Howard Street, Suite 300, San Francisco
BART/Muni Embarcadero
Please RSVP by email or call (415) 621-0672
37th Anniversary Luncheon
Thursday, June 16, 2011
San Francisco Marriott Marquis
Keynote speaker
Anna Deavere Smith
Playwright ∙ Actor ∙ Professor
To be a sponsor or table host, please contact Heidi Gider, Director of Development
Plaintiffs in Dukes v. Wal-Mart Urge Supreme Court to Uphold Class Certification In Historic Sex Discrimination Case
On February 22, 2011, Plaintiffs in Dukes v. Wal-Mart filed briefing with the United States Supreme Court urging the Court to uphold the district court’s certification of a class of women working at Wal-Mart nationwide challenging discriminatory pay and promotion practices. Pointing to overwhelming evidence supporting class certification, Plaintiffs cautioned that that the “fundamental pillars” of civil rights and employment discrimination laws were at stake.
On March 1, 2011, dozens of prominent and well-respected organizations, experts, economists, professors, firms, and individuals filed amici briefs in support of Plaintiffs, including the American Association of University Women, the National Women’s Law Center, the ACLU Women’s Rights Project, the National Partnership for Women and Families, the National Employment Lawyers Association, the Women’s Chamber of Commerce, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, among others.
Dukes v. Wal-Mart in the news
National Women's Law Center
National Partnership for Women & Families
ACLU
Visit ERA on Facebook and Twitter for daily updates!
ERA in Washington DC
Join ERA for a special evening reception
following the oral arguments in Dukes v. Wal-Mart
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011
6:00-8:00 pm
Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP
1718 Connecticut Ave., NW
6th Floor
Washington, DC 20009
Please RSVP by email or (415) 621-0672
Thank you to AAUW
ERA is grateful to the AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund for their financial and organizational support of Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Their support at this critical time is instrumental to the case and serves as a reminder of AAUW’s 30-year history of involvement with some of the most impactful litigation affecting women’s rights nationwide.
ERA thanks AAUW members for their generous contributions to the Fund. It is gratifying to know that when we go to oral argument in the U.S. Supreme Court on March 29th, 2011, we stand in solidarity with AAUW members and working women nationwide.
Workplace Flexibility Conference
As part of ERA's Working Families Campaign, Staff Attorney Monali Sheth attended the National Dialogue on Workplace Flexibility hosted by the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, California on February 17, 2011. Participants included 400 advocates, researchers, union leaders, government workers, members from the business community and employees who demonstrated their commitment to achieving fair and high quality work-life environments and promoting workplace flexibility for all working women.
Highlights included a dynamic keynote speech from Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, in which she explained why businesses, employees and families all win in a flexible workplace, and a panel discussion on best practices for a flexible workplace, featuring Professor Joan Williams from the Center of WorkLife Law at UC Hastings; Jennifer Piallat, owner of Zazie Restaurant in San Francisco; Rosalind Hudnell, Chief Diversity Officer and Global Director Education and External Relations at Intel; Barbara Grimm, Senior Vice President in the Office of Labor Management Partnership at Kaiser Permanente; and Marianne Gioradano, President of OPEIU Local 30.
Photo of Monali Sheth, ERA Staff Attorney, and Beth McGovern, Legislative Director for the California Commission on the Status of Women
Legally Asian
On February 19, 2011, ERA Staff Attorney Monali Sheth participated in a panel on legal careers in the public sector at the “Legally Asian” Conference at UC Hastings College of Law, along with Alameda County Superior Court Judge Stuart Hing, Executive Director of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Bay Area, Zahra Billoo, and Alliance for Justice Staff Attorney, Nayantara Mehta.
The Asian American Bar Association, the South Asian Bar Association, and UC Hastings Asian Pacific American Law Student Association sponsored the conference to encourage high school and college students to pursue a law degree and to expose them to issues that directly impact the Asian American community, such as employment discrimination, immigration issues and voting rights. Approximately 50 attorneys and students attended the conference.
ERA Sponsors Bill to Ensure Continued Health Insurance for Pregnant Workers
ERA is proud to co-sponsor Senate Bill 299, a bill introduced on February 14th, 2011 and authored by Senator Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, Chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus. This legislation will ensure that employer-provided health insurance coverage is continued for women on pregnancy disability leave.
The bill will amend the Pregnancy Disability Leave Act to ensure that pregnant women are not forced to chose between health insurance and a medically necessary leave. “SB 299 will help pregnant workers when they need it the most,” noted Managing Attorney Noreen Farrell.
Domestic Workers Bill
ERA is a member of the legal team which includes the UCLA Labor Center, the Golden Gate Women's Employment Rights Clinic, and the Legal Aid Society Employment Law Center, that supports and works under the direction of The California Household Worker Rights Coalition to draft AB 889 the California Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights (CDWBR) bill. The bill was introduced by California State Assemblymembers Tom Ammiano (D-SF) and V. Manuel Perez (D-Coachella Valley) on February 17th, 2011.
The CDWBR would provide domestic workers with overtime protections, extend safe and healthy workplace protections, workers’ compensation, and advanced notice before termination, among other protections.
ERA Advocates for Marginalized Workers in Los Angeles
Staff Attorney Jamie Dolkas was a featured panelist at a Restaurant Industry Summit organized by the Restaurant Opportunities Center of Los Angeles (ROC-LA) discussing labor and public health issues in the restaurant industry. Dolkas led a discussion on issues facing women in the restaurant industry, focusing on sexual harassment, pay disparity, and family medical leave.
The summit was held on Valentine’s Day, the restaurant industry’s busiest day of the year, to launch ROC-LA’s groundbreaking new report, “Behind the Kitchen Door: Inequality and Opportunity in Los Angeles, The Nation’s Largest Restaurant Industry.” ERA contributed policy recommendations that benefit women in the restaurant industry.
