Civil Rights & Employment
Fighting for fair play and fair pay.
We represent people from all walks of life who have been subjected to discrimination and unlawful bias in the workplace, who have been denied pay for all of the work they performed, and groups of individuals who have been denied access to places of public accommodation, housing, and/or equal access to credit because of unlawful bias and discriminatory practices.
Overview
We represent individuals from all walks of life and across all industries, including agriculture, entertainment, finance, healthcare services, manufacturing, retail, technology, transportation, and other white-collar, blue-collar, and pink-collar industries.
- Employees: We represent employees at all levels of employment – across all industries – who have been subjected to discrimination and unlawful bias in the workplace or who have been denied pay for all of the work they performed.
- Individuals: We also represent groups of individuals who have been denied access to places of public accommodation, housing, and/or equal access to credit because of unlawful bias and discriminatory practices.
On behalf of our clients, we pursue civil rights and employment class actions in federal courts across the nation, including the U.S. Supreme Court, that often involve cutting-edge issues related to the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII, Equal Pay Act, Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, as well as novel joint employer liability issues and procedural issues related to class certification and class arbitration. We bring an unshakeable commitment to serving our clients vigorously and passionately for as long as the representation may require.
Our focus includes, but is not limited to:
Discrimination
- Age
- Disabilities and reasonable accommodations
- Gender, pregnancy, and family responsibilities
- Race and national origin
- Sexual orientation and transgender status
Wage and Hour
- Donning and doffing
- Overtime
- Pre-shift and post-shift time
- Worker misclassifications
- Seasonal workers and H-2A visas
We have litigated some of the largest and most significant civil rights and employment matters in recent U.S. history, including:
- Keepseagle v. Vilsack (D.D.C.): A more than decade-long, nationwide class action on behalf of Native American farmers and ranchers against the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its systematic race-based discrimination and denial of access to low-interest rate government loans, resulting in a historic settlement of $760 million.
- Dukes v. Walmart (N.D. Cal.): A high-profile gender-based discrimination class action involving more than 1.6 million women that went up to the Supreme Court in 2011 and further defined class action law. The litigation continues and was profiled in the May 2019 issue of TIME, “Nearly Two Decades Ago, Women Across the Country Sued Walmart for Discrimination. They’re Not Done Fighting.”
We helped conceive ground-breaking innovations to help foster diversity, equity, and inclusion:
- The Inclusion Rider: A novel contractual hiring addendum made famous by Frances McDormand in her 2018 Best Actress acceptance speech. The addendum stipulates that an employer tackle implicit bias of minorities in its hiring process by interviewing or auditioning minorities for open employment opportunities so that the work place (and the products or services rendered), authentically reflect the world in which we actually live, while protecting creative sovereignty.
Impactful Leadership
Our civil rights and employment law visionaries and innovators have litigated landmark civil rights and employment disputes before the highest courts in the nation, and continue to actively shape civil rights and employment law in the United States.
- Joseph M. Sellers, co-chair of the practice has argued seminal civil rights and employment class actions before the Supreme Court and successfully litigated many class action cases through trial, He helped draft the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act of 2009, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 – cornerstones of today’s civil rights and employment laws.
- Christine E. Webber, co-chair of the practice is the co-chair of National Employment Lawyers Association’s Class Action Committee, the nation’s leading employment rights law association. She is highly regarded for orchestrating large, data intensive class and collective actions.
- D. Michael Hancock is the former Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. During his 20 years there, he helped enforce a range of workplace protections, from minimum wage, overtime, child labor and the Family Medical Leave Act, to guest worker and other employment-based immigration programs.
Current Cases
Equal Rights Center v. Air Communities, L.P., et al.
On February 1, 2024, Equal Rights Center (ERC) filed a consumer protection lawsuit against AIR Communities, L.P., Rhode Island 15 LP, dba Latrobe Apartment Homes, and Vaughan Place, LLC, for their use of discriminatory policies and practices that create unlawful barriers for applicants in the District of Columbia using housing vouchers and applicants with stale […]
Amazon Flex Drivers
Amazon Flex Driver Arbitrations (AAA): Cohen Milstein represents thousands of current and former Amazon Flex delivery drivers in California, Illinois and Massachusetts who allege that Amazon misclassified them as independent contractors instead of employees to avoid paying them overtime or reimbursing for expenses, and to deny them other benefits under these states’ laws. These cases are currently being litigated before the American Arbitration Association.
Louis, et al. v. SafeRent Solutions, et al.
Louis, et al. v. SafeRent Solutions (D. Mass.): Cohen Milstein represents individual plaintiffs and the Community Action Agency of Somerville against SafeRent Solutions (formerly known as CoreLogic), in a Fair Housing Act violation lawsuit. Plaintiffs allege that SafeRent, which provides tenant screening services to landlords and property owners, has been violating the FHA and related state laws because its tenant screening software algorithm disproportionately gives low scores to Black and Hispanic rental applicants who use federally funded housing vouchers, causing them to be denied housing. On January 9, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development filed a statement of interest in this case.
Past Cases
In Re Tyson Foods, Inc. FLSA Litigation
In re Tyson Foods FLSA MDL (M.D. Ga.), Cohen Milstein was lead counsel in a collective action involving FLSA claims at over 40 Tyson chicken processing plants, which ultimately resolved the claims of 17,000 chicken processing workers who had been denied compensation for donning and doffing required safety and sanitary equipment.
Couy Griffin Jan. 6 Insurrection Litigation
Couy Griffin Jan. 6 Insurrection Litigation (1st Jud. Dist. Crt., Santa Fe Cnty., NM): Acting as trial counsel, Cohen Milstein, on behalf of CREW helped successfully prosecute this quo warranto lawsuit to remove Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin from office and disqualify him from holding any future public office pursuant 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and New Mexico statutes because of his participation in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol.
Gentiva Health Services
Gentiva Health Services (N.D. Ga.): Cohen Milstein represented hundreds of health care workers in a nationwide class action against Gentiva, one the country’s largest home health care service providers. Plaintiffs sought unpaid overtime wages under FLSA. In June 2017, the court granted final approval of a confidential settlement.
News & INSIGHTS
Today’s news, tomorrow’s change.
Harini Srinivasan to Speak on Maximizing Remedies When Representing Federal and Public Employees
National Employment Lawyers Association
Harini Srinivasan to Discuss the Status of FLSA Collective Action Certification
Strafford
Trump Opts Against Appealing Civil Immunity Claim in Jan. 6 Lawsuits to Supreme Court
The Hill