Here’s a roundup of news since our Summer newsletter. We have a lot to share across our areas of work: dismantling debtor’s prisons, ensuring access in public benefits programs, and defending home care workers’ rights. Thank you for reading!
Buffalo Police Testimony Reveals Widespread Use of Racist Language
We just released news that got covered by The Buffalo News and two writers for Investigative Post that during deposition testimony in our litigation against the Buffalo Police Department (BPD), a former BPD lieutenant said “probably every officer” had used the n-word in encounters with Black citizens and admitted using it repeatedly himself throughout his career. The officer, Thomas Whelan, defended the use of the word as conducive to obtaining “compliance” and claimed it did not necessarily reflect racial bias and failed to report it. Patrick Roberts, a former BPD captain, also defended officers’ use of racial slurs. Senior Attorney Anjana Malhotra took both depositions.
Our litigation challenges the constitutionality of racially-discriminatory traffic enforcement and checkpoints. The case is shedding light on the astounding lack of accountability for racially-biased policing, with police left to police themselves when complaints are registered.
To understand more about the racial segregation and the racist legacy of policing in Buffalo, read community leader Phylicia Brown’s op-ed.
Defending the Rights of Those who Rely on Safety Net Programs
On November 8, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Health and Hospital Corporation v. Talevski. This case is getting little media attention but could have major implications for federally-funded programs for food, essential medical care, and mental health services.
In September, we advocated to protect the existing rights of youth across the country who depend on benefits programs. Alongside the National Center for Youth Law, the Youth Law Center, and 14 organizations represented by Upper Seven Law, we filed an amicus brief in the Talevski case urging the Supreme Court to keep children’s statutory rights enforceable. We pushed back on appellants efforts to overturn decades of precedent that made it possible to individually enforce rights and dismantle the legal mechanism protecting the rights of millions of youth in programs like SNAP and Medicaid.
An adverse ruling on this case will greatly impact the disability community. The Health and Hospitals Corporation in Talevski is asking the Supreme Court to hold that people cannot enforce the individual rights granted by Congress in laws enacted pursuant to congressional Spending Clause powers—including large programs like SNAP and Medicaid. Here’s an explainer from disability rights advocate Kim Dodson.
A Win for People with Disabilities in Suffolk County
Victory! At the end of October, a federal judge in the Eastern District of New York approved the settlement of a class action lawsuit, Newkirk v. Pierre. Suffolk County residents with disabilities alleged that the Commissioner of the Department of Social Services discriminated against them by failing to provide reasonable accommodations to participate in public benefit programs. This win ensures that every eligible Suffolk County resident has a fair and equal opportunity to obtain critical and sustaining public assistance benefits.
Defending Home Care Workers Against Discrimination
Home care and managed long-term care agencies have been rampantly violating the law when it comes to 24-hour shifts. In October, we filed a complaint demanding the federal government investigate the New York State Department of Health and Department of Labor for their discrimination against home care workers being forced to work 24-hour shifts. NYSDOL and NYSDOH are willfully ignoring extreme working conditions of home health aides, who are predominantly immigrant women workers of color.
In coordination with this legal move, we joined Flushing Workers Center, National Mobilization Against Sweatshops, Chinese Staff and Worker Association, and SWEAT Coalition members at a rally in downtown Manhattan demanding better working conditions for home health aides. Gothamist covered the story.
A Final Shot at Justice for People Harmed by Montgomery Debtors’ Prison
For years, the City of Montgomery, Alabama, and a private contractor, Judicial Correction Services (JCS) operated a debtors’ prison in Alabama. We filed to make our case challenging this debtor’s prison, McCullough v. City of Montgomery, a class action case so people jailed for inability to pay minor traffic fines will be compensated. The case went before the Eleventh Circuit in October.
Montgomery’s debtor’s prison charged fines from traffic tickets and other minor misdemeanors and ordered hundreds of people who could not afford to pay “probation” with JCS. And JCS made enormous profit--over $15.5 million--from a $40 monthly fee it charged each probationer.
Our appeal is supported by two powerful amicus briefs. One from Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program urges the court to overturn a part of the ruling that discriminates against people with disabilities. A second amicus brief supported our arguments for class certification.
The National Center for Law and Economic Justice advances racial and economic justice through ground-breaking impact litigation, policy advocacy, and support for grassroots organizing. We have provided legal representation and support since 1965.
