Joseph M. Sellers, founder and co-chair of the Civil Rights & Employment practice, is widely recognized as a civil rights and employment law visionary. He has helped lay the cornerstones of today’s employment and civil rights law through his work on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, and the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act of 2009, and by litigating landmark cases.
With a career spanning more than four decades, Joe has represented individuals and classes of people who have been denied their rights and opportunities of employment because of race, national origin, religion, age, disability, and sex, including sexual orientation and identity. He has represented victims of race discrimination in the denial of equal access to credit, in the rates charged for insurance and in the equal access to health clubs, retail stores, restaurants and other public places. He has challenged housing discrimination on the basis of race and the denial of housing and public accommodations to people with disabilities. Joe is committed to fighting discrimination in all its forms.
Joe has tried to judgment before courts and juries civil rights class actions and individual cases and has argued more than 30 appeals in federal and state appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court. He has served as class counsel, and typically lead counsel, in more than 75 civil rights and employment class actions.
Joe’s body of work demonstrates his unshakeable commitment to serving clients vigorously and passionately for as long as the representation may require — shaping law for the common good along the way.
Joe also serves as a leader inside the firm — as a member of the executive committee and a mentor to many.
- Adjunct Professor, Washington College of Law, American University
- Lecturer, Georgetown University Law Center
- Guest Lecturer on Civil Rights to Chinese Judges, Ford Foundation and American Bar Association
- Trainer of lawyers on civil rights cases, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and U.S. Department of Justice
- President, Washington Council of Lawyers
- Served on the transition teams of two U.S. presidents (Obama/Biden in 2008 and Clinton/Gore in 1992)
- Testified before Congress more than 20 times
- Teaching the next generation of civil rights lawyers at two Washington, D.C. area law schools.
- Appointed by the Chief Justice of the United States to the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules of the Judicial Conference of the United States.
- Served as a Co-chair of the Special Committee on Race and Ethnicity of the D.C. Circuit Task Force on Gender, Race and Ethnic Bias, to which he was appointed by the judges of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
- Director, Employment Discrimination Project, Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs
- President, Washington Council of Lawyers
- Co-Chair, Special Committee on Race & Ethnicity, D.C. Circuit Task Force on Gender, Race and Ethnic Bias
- Member, Advisory Committee on Civil Rules of the Judicial Conference of the United States (2018 – 2021)
- District of Columbia
- Case Western Reserve School of Law, J.D., 1979
- Brown University, B.A., 1975
Current Cases
Apple Gender Pay Discrimination Litigation
Jong, et al. v. Apple Inc. (Cal. Sup., S.F. Cnty.): Cohen Milstein is representing current and former female Apple employees in a putative gender pay discrimination class action. Plaintiffs claim that since 2020, Apple has violated California’s Equal Pay Act and Fair Employment and Housing Act by systematically paying women lower wages than male employees who perform substantially similar work.
IBM Age Discrimination Litigation
Rodriquez, et al. v. IBM (S.D.N.Y.): Cohen Milstein is representing 16 former employees of IBM Corporation who claim that IBM terminated their employment because of their age in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Plaintiffs claim that in an effort to rebrand its image and shift its recruiting focus to “Millennials,” people born between 1980 and 1996, IBM carried out a company-wide “Resource Action” scheme of discharging its older workers through group terminations.
Lee, et al. v. Trump, et al.
Thompson, et al. v. Trump, et al. (D.D.C.): In partnership with the NAACP, Cohen Milstein is representing members of Congress in a novel civil rights lawsuit filed under the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 against Donald J. Trump, in his personal capacity, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, alleging that they conspired to prevent members of Congress from carrying out their constitutional duty to certify the results of the 2020 election on January 6, 2021. The case addresses novel questions of presidential immunity and the First Amendment. On December 1, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decided that President Trump is not entitled to official-act immunity for his actions leading up to and on January 6 as alleged in the complaint, since he was acting as an office-seeker, not an officeholder.
Amazon Flex Driver Mass Arbitration
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.
Bird, et al. v. Garland
Bird, et al. v. Garland (D.D.C.): Cohen Milstein represents a certified class action of 34 current and former female FBI agents, who claim they suffered systemic gender discrimination and subsequent termination from the FBI’s Basic Training program for new agents. The women bring their claims of disparate treatment and disparate impact under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. On October 16, 2024, the court granted preliminary approval of a $22.6 million settlement against the FBI.
Harris v. Medical Transportation Management, Inc.
Harris, et al. v. Medical Transportation Management, Inc. (D.D.C.): Cohen Milstein represents non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) drivers in a certified class action alleging that their employer, Medical Transportation Management, Inc. (MTM), knowingly and willfully failed to pay proper wages to its NEMT drivers across Washington, D.C. under federal and District of Columbia law. This lawsuit seeks to hold MTM liable as a joint employer of the drivers.
Temporary Staffing Agency Litigation
Temporary Employment Staffing Agency Litigation (N.D. Ill.): Cohen Milstein is involved in a series of race-based discrimination class actions in Chicago, representing African-American laborers who allege that their temporary staffing agencies and their factory-clients engaged in a repeated and collusive practice of excluding African Americans from temporary laborer positions.
Flint Water Crisis Litigation
Flint Water Crisis Class Action Litigation (E.D. Mich.): Since 2021, Cohen Milstein has helped more than 90,000 Flint residents and businesses achieve $659.25 million in settlements from those responsible for the Flint Water Crisis. This includes a landmark $626.25 million settlement against the State of Michigan, the former Governor Rick Snyder, and other defendants for their roles in re-directing toxic levels of lead-contaminated water from the Flint River into the City of Flint’s drinking water system to save money. Litigation against the EPA continues.
Rasmussen, et al. v. The Walt Disney Company, et al.
Rasmussen, et al. v. The Walt Disney Company, et al. (Cal. Sup., L.A. Cnty.): Cohen Milstein represents a certified class of current and former female employees of The Walt Disney Company and all Disney subsidiaries in gender pay equity dispute. Plaintiffs allege that Disney pays women workers in California tens of thousands of dollars less than their male counterparts in violation of California’s Equal Pay Act. On November 25, 2024 plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary approval of a $43.25 million settlement. The terms of the settlement also include a number of best practices, including benchmarking jobs to external market data and organizing jobs within Disney's job architecture.
Salvation Army ARC Unpaid Wages Litigation
Salvation Army ARC Unpaid Wages Litigation: Cohen Milstein represents participants in Salvation Army's adult rehabilitation centers (ARC), who perform labor in support of the organization as a condition of their enrollment, in three lawsuits alleging that The Salvation Army violated federal and state laws when it failed to pay minimum wage to ARC workers.
Walmart Litigation
Walmart Litigation: Litigation against Walmart Stores has been ongoing since June 2001, in an effort dedicated to ensuring that millions of women who have worked for Walmart over the years receive equal pay and an equal chance at promotion.
Past Cases
Keepseagle v. Vilsack
Keepseagle, et al. v. Vilsack (D.D.C.): Cohen Milstein represented a certified class of Native American farmers and ranchers, who alleged that the USDA systematically denied the same opportunities to obtain farm loans and loan servicing that had been routinely afforded white farmers. On April 28, 2011, the Court granted final approval of a historic $760 million settlement with the USDA, which agreed to pay $680 million in damages to thousands of Native American farmers and ranchers and forgive up to $80 million worth of outstanding farm loan debt. On March 26, 2018 the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by two objectors for review of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit May 16, 2017 ruling, which affirmed the U.S. District Court’s April 20, 2016 decision approving the plan for distribution of $380 million in unclaimed cy pres funds from the historic settlement.
Jock et al. v. Sterling Jewelers Inc.
Jock, et al. v. Sterling Jewelers Inc. (A.A.A.; S.D.N.Y.): Cohen Milstein represented a certified class of more than 69,000 female employees of Sterling Jewelers, one of the nation's largest jewelry chains, in a nationwide Title VII gender discrimination and Equal Pay Act class arbitration. Claimants alleged that they were subjected to a pattern of gender-based pay and promotions discrimination. On November 15, 2022, the Arbitrator granted final approval of a $175 million settlement.
NAACP DACA Litigation
Department of Homeland Security, et al. v. Regents of the University of California, et al. (S. Ct. No. 18-587): On June 18, 2020, the Supreme Court blocked the Trump Administration’s plan to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, preserving immigration protections for approximately 650,000 current DACA recipients and opening the door for at least 130,000 new applicants to seek the protections afforded by DACA. Cohen Milstein represented the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union and the American Federation of Teachers in one of three cases consolidated before the Supreme Court.
Federal Aviation Administration Flight Service Litigation
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Flight Service Litigation (D.D.C.): Cohen Milstein represented plaintiffs in lawsuit against the Department of Transportation (DOT) and FAA for discrimination against 670 former Flight Service Specialists who live in nearly all 50 states after they were terminated by the FAA through the RIF. On April 28, 2021, the DOT and FAA agreed to a record-breaking $43.8 million settlement to end this 16-year-old age discrimination lawsuit.
National Association of the Deaf v. Harvard & MIT
National Association of the Deaf v. Harvard & MIT (D. Mass.): In February 2020 and July 2020, Cohen Milstein and co-counsel successfully settled two groundbreaking class actions on behalf of deaf and hearing-impaired individuals. The landmark settlements are historic because they require two of the most lauded academic research institutions in the world to include closed captioning on all content, including videos and podcasts, available to the public online, establishing a precedent for academia and business worldwide.
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.
U.S. Customs & Border Protection Agency Pregnancy Discrimination Litigation
Gabaldon, et al. V. Mayorkas, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (EEOC): Cohen Milstein represented U.S. Customs and Border agents in a certified class action against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, in which plaintiffs claim that the agency and its implementation of the temporary light duty policies discriminate against pregnant agents in violation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. On August 13, 2024, a class of over 1,000 agents reached a historic $45 million settlement, which includes an agreement by the agency to enact sweeping reforms to policies that will eliminate long-standing discriminatory practices.
McDonald’s Wage & Hour Litigation
Cohen Milstein successfully represented McDonald’s workers in California and New York class action lawsuits in federal and state courts claiming the fast-food giant was unlawfully denying payment for work and other benefits required by the law by failing to provide legally mandated meal periods and rest breaks, failing to pay overtime for overnight shifts, and failing to reimburse workers for the time and expense of cleaning required uniforms. Several of these lawsuits involved novel joint-employer issues, as McDonald's operates through franchises. One of these suits involved a two week-long bench trial brought under the California Private Attorneys General Act statute, in which aggrieved employees are effectively deputized as private attorneys general pursuing labor code violations. PAGA is a novel and uncharted area of law. As a result, we successfully established legal precedents under PAGA and wage and hour law.
Aaron v. Pilgrim’s Pride Corp.
Aaron v. Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. (W.D. Ark.): Cohen Milstein represented 8,000 workers in 11 states in a wage and hour lawsuit, in which the workers sought redress for unpaid overtime. The $10 million settlement allowed class members to recover about 85% of the back pay owed them.
Stanley, et al. v. BarBri, Inc.
Stanley v. BarBri, Inc. (N.D. Tex.): Cohen Milstein represented a class of blind law students, who claimed that critical components of BarBri, Inc. attorney bar exam prep cours offerings, including its mobile application, website and course materials, were not accessible to blind or sight impaired law students in violation of the ADA and Chpt. 121 of the Texas Human Resources. In January 2018, BarBri agreed to change its practices as a part of a settlement.
Alvarez v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.
Alvarez et al. v. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. et al. (D.N.J.): Cohen Milstein represented a class of managerial apprentices at Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants in New Jersey who were denied the overtime pay to which they were entitled under federal and state law, including the newly enacted 2016 Overtime Rule, which was slated to take effect in December 2016 and would have doubled the salary threshold for executive, administrative and professional workers to be exempt from overtime pay requirements. On September 20, 2021, the Court approved a $15 million settlement against Chipotle to resolve the class claims and end the lawsuit.
Beck, et al. v. Boeing
Bird, et al. v. Barr (D.D.C.): Cohen Milstein represented a group of about 29,000 female employees who had claims of sex discrimination against The Boeing Company, Inc. The certified claims address discrimination in compensation for salaried employees, access to overtime work for hourly IAM employees, and promotions for both. In granting class certification, the court noted that “the data yields statistically significant results of adverse impact on female employees in every facility and at every level within the Puget sound area.”
Long Island Housing Services, Inc. v. NPS Holiday Square LLC
Long Island Housing Services, Inc., et al. v. NPS Holiday Square LLC, et al. (E.D.N.Y.): Cohen Milstein, in partnership with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, represented Long Island Housing Services (LIHS), Suffolk Independent Living Organization (SILO) and Suffolk County residents in a Fair Housing Act race, disability, and source of income discrimination class action against NPS Property Corporation, a prominent Long Island-area property management company. On February 16, 2024, parties reached a settlement for $105,000.00 in monetary damages, separate from attorneys’ fees, and significant injunctive relief to safeguard against future discrimination, including adopting certain requirements for participants in housing subsidy programs, such as voucher holders.
Long Island Housing Services, Inc. v. Village of Mastic Beach
Long Island Housing Services, Inc., et al. v. Village of Mastic Beach (E.D.N.Y.): Cohen Milstein represented LIHS and African American tenants in a Fair Housing Act race discrimination case. The case settled in August 2017 for $387,500.
Lopez, et al. v. Ham Farms, LLC, et al.
Lopez, et al. v. Ham Farms, LLC, et al. (E.D.N.C.): Cohen Milstein represented hundreds of migrant seasonal and H-2A farm labor workers in a wage and hour dispute under the FLSA, the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA), and the North Carolina Wage & Hour Act. On May 14, 2021, the Court granted final approval of a class action settlement with a total value of $1 million. At the final approval hearing on May 14, Judge James C. Dever III commended plaintiffs’ counsel for the "excellent [settlement] papers."
Park 7 Tenant Union – Right to Organize
Park 7 Tenant Union - Right to Organize Litigation (D.C. Sup. Crt.): Cohen Milstein, along with the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, represented the Park 7 Tenant Union and individual tenants of Park 7 Apartments, an affordable housing apartment building in Washington D.C., against the property’s owner and property manager. Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants violated their “right to organize,” which is protected under D.C.’s Right of Tenants to Organize Act. In October 2021, the parties signed a first-of-its-kind Consent Agreement that established the procedures by which the Park 7 Tenant Union can operate free from interference and retaliation.
Wells Fargo Fair Housing Litigation
14 Fair Housing Organizations and Cohen Milstein Announce Groundbreaking Fair Housing Agreement with Wells Fargo and HUD on Marketing and Maintenance of Foreclosed Properties On June 6, 2013, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and 13 of its member organizations announced a collaboration with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. that will provide funds in 19 cities […]
Amicus Briefs
Amicus Curiae Brief – Bank of America v. Miami
On October 7, 2016, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, alongside the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the National Fair Housing Alliance, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and Human Rights, the National Consumer Law Center, Impact Fund, the Poverty & Race Research Action Council, and the ACLU Foundation, filed an amicus curiae […]
- Forbes, America’s Top 200 Lawyers (2024)
- Chambers USA Labor & Employment: Mainly Plaintiffs – Washington, D.C. (2024)
- National Law Journal, Elite Trial Lawyers Lifetime Achievement Award (2023)
- Lawdragon Hall of Fame (2023)
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America (2016, 2018-2023)
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyer (2019-2023)
- Benchmark Litigation, Litigation Star (2025)
- Benchmark Litigation, Labor and Employment Star (2025)
- The Best Lawyers in America (2016-2025)
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment & Civil Rights Lawyers (2021-2024)
- Legal500 Leading Lawyers Labor & Employment (2021, 2022)
- Law360’s Employment MVP (2021)
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers (2018-2020)
- NAACP “Foot Soldier in the Sand” Award (2018)
- Super Lawyers (2018-2024)
November 25, 2024
Women Reach $43.25M Settlement in Disney Gender Pay Discrimination Class Action
LOS ANGELES – Today, class representatives of current and former female employees of certain Disney-related companies in California filed a motion for preliminary approval of a $43.25 million settlement in a gender pay discrimination class action. Filed in 2019, the women claimed that Disney deprived the class of millions in wages. Disney’s actions, the women […]
Press Releases | Cohen Milstein
November 15, 2024
Joseph Sellers on Title VII and the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
In this episode of the Legal 500 Podcast, Joseph Sellers, founder and co-chair of the Civil Rights & Employment practice at Cohen Milstein, joins Barnaby Merrill for an insightful discussion.
Multimedia | Legal 500 Podcast
September 30, 2024
Women FBI Agent Trainees Vindicated: $22.6M Gender Discrimination Settlement Reached
U.S. Dept. of Justice Office of Inspector General’s 2022 Report Confirmed Claims of Gender Discrimination Women Who Were Dismissed from Agent Training May Be Eligible to Reenter the Program WASHINGTON, DC – Representatives of a proposed class of thirty-four women dismissed from the FBI’s agent training program filed a motion for preliminary approval of a […]
Press Releases | Cohen Milstein
August 23, 2024
CBP Agrees to Pay $45 Million to Settle Pregnancy Discrimination Case
Under an image of the Statue of Liberty, set against a waving American flag, the Customs and Border Protection website describes the agency’s commitment to “nondiscrimination in the workforce.”
In the News | The Washington Post
August 16, 2024
Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout-Outs
Shout-out to lawyers at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll and Gilbert Employment Law who secured a $45 million settlement from Customs and Border Protection on behalf of 1,000 employees who claimed the agency discriminated against pregnant workers. Plaintiffs initially filed the lawsuit in 2016 with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. They claimed CBP forced […]
In the News | ALM/Law.com
August 14, 2024
US Agency Tasked with Border Security to Pay $45 Million Over Pregnancy Discrimination, Lawyers Say
The agency responsible for securing the country’s land and air border crossings is settling a case that alleged the agency discriminated against pregnant employees, lawyers for the employees said Tuesday. In a news release, lawyers for Customs and Border Protection employees said they had reached a $45 million settlement in the class action that includes […]
In the News | The Hill
August 13, 2024
Transfers and Pay Cuts: Pregnant Officers Accuse Border Agency of Discrimination
Under a $45 million settlement, Customs and Border Protection agreed to adjust a practice that some employees say has instilled a culture of shame and perpetuated a fear of retaliation. When Roberta Gabaldon was ready to share news of her pregnancy with her colleagues at Customs and Border Protection in 2015, she brought in pink […]
In the News | The New York Times
August 13, 2024
Customs & Border Protection Employees Reach $45 Million Settlement After Uncovering Widespread Pregnancy Discrimination
The settlement includes a number of major reforms to the agency after members of a class of over 1,000 employees challenged a widespread practice of involuntary removal from active duty because of pregnancy, resulting in lost wages and causing them emotional harm. WASHINGTON, D.C. – A class of over 1,000 employees of Customs and Border […]
Press Releases | Cohen Milstein
July 30, 2024
Title VII at 60: The Evolution of ‘Based on…Sex’
OpEd by Joseph Sellers, founder and co-chair of Cohen Milstein’s Civil Rights & Employment practice. The broad and flexible interpretations of the word “sex” have surely surpassed the expectations of the bill’s authors, and even more so its detractors who added the word itself. When opponents to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of […]
Articles | The National Law Journal
June 18, 2024
1,700 Bay Area Delivery Workers Join Mass Arbitration Claim Against Amazon
Saman Khodaei said that delivering packages for Amazon as part of its DoorDash-like Flex program was stressful. The company gave him a set number of packages to deliver in a block of time, he said — noon to 2 p.m., for example. But any number of things could and did delay his deliveries — traffic, […]
In the News | San Francisco Examiner
June 14, 2024
Apple Punishes Women for Same Behaviors That Get Men Promoted, Lawsuit Says
Apple could owe thousands in back pay to 12,000 female employees. Apple has spent years “intentionally, knowingly, and deliberately paying women less than men for substantially similar work,” a proposed class action lawsuit filed in California on Thursday alleged. A victory for women suing could mean that more than 12,000 current and former female employees […]
In the News | Ars Technica
June 14, 2024
Apple Hit With Gender Discrimination Suit by SF Lawyer Who Won $118 Million From Google
The plaintiffs, who still work for the Bay Area tech giant, are hoping to win money for 12,000 California women. Two Apple workers launched a major gender discrimination lawsuit against their employer Thursday, accusing the Bay Area tech giant of willfully paying thousands of California women less than men for similar work. Plaintiffs Justina Jong […]
In the News | SFGate
June 14, 2024
Apple Is Sued by Female Employees Claiming Pay Discrimination
Apple Inc. was sued by two female employees who claim it “systemically” pays women less than their male counterparts for similar work, and who are seeking to represent thousands of other women facing the same alleged discrimination. They claim that Apple, of Cupertino, California, determined starting salaries before 2018 by asking employees for their compensation […]
In the News | TIME
June 12, 2024
Amazon Flex Drivers Seek to Arbitrate Employment Status
Nearly 16,000 Amazon drivers filed arbitration claims against the e-commerce giant with the American Arbitration Association this week seeking unpaid wages and compensation for work-related expenses because of their misclassification as independent contractors. About 15,860 Amazon.com Flex drivers in California, Illinois and Massachusetts submitted arbitration claims Tuesday, where 453 similar cases are already being litigated, […]
In the News | Law360
June 13, 2024
Female Apple Employees File Gender Pay Discrimination Class Action
Lead plaintiffs represent a potential class of more than 12,000 women in Apple’s engineering, marketing, and AppleCare divisions in California. Women claim that Apple systematically relies on pay expectation and prior pay information before joining Apple, to pay them less than male employees who perform substantially similar work. San Francisco, CA – Today, plaintiff-side powerhouses […]
Press Releases | Cohen Milstein
June 11, 2024
Thousands of Drivers File Arbitration Claims Against Amazon for Unpaid Wages and Other Losses
Thousands of delivery drivers filed legal claims against Amazon on Tuesday, alleging the company’s classification of them as independent contractors instead of employees has led to unpaid wages and other financial losses. Two law firms spearheading the action said about 15,860 Amazon Flex drivers have submitted arbitration claims with the American Arbitration Association, where 453 […]
In the News | AP
June 11, 2024
Amazon Flex Drivers File Thousands of Wage & Hour Actions Against Amazon
More than 15,750 individual claims filed simultaneously against Amazon, alleging drivers were misclassified as independent contractors. Lawyers continue to sign up other misclassified drivers to participate in arbitration. San Francisco, CA – Today, more than 15,750 Amazon Flex drivers in California, Illinois and Massachusetts deluged Amazon, the e-commerce and delivery giant, with individual wage and […]
Press Releases | Cohen Milstein
December 19, 2023
Beauty Company, Staffing Firms’ $11 Million Race Bias Pact OK’d
A beauty products supplier and three staffing agencies will pay more than $11 million to end a decade-old lawsuit alleging a practice of racial preferences disfavoring Black workers for temporary assignments. The third of three separate settlement agreements was preliminarily approved by the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Monday. Under […]
In the News | Bloomberg Law
April 10, 2024
US Judiciary Panel Suggests Giving Plaintiffs More Flexibility to Voluntarily Narrow Claims
“Generally speaking, the practitioners will tell you that the rule needs to change. How the rule needs to change remains somewhat of a debate,” said U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon of the Western District of Pennsylvania. A U.S. judiciary panel is suggesting that a federal rule be amended to give parties more flexibility to voluntarily […]
In the News | The National Law Journal
March 28, 2024
IBM Must Face Ex-Workers’ Age Bias Suit
A New York federal judge said a lawsuit brought by 16 former workers accusing IBM Corp. of firing older employees to replace them with millennials can proceed despite them not filing the necessary presuit charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Vincent L. Briccetti denied IBM’s motion to dismiss […]
In the News | Law360
March 27, 2024
Joseph Sellers Named to Inaugural List of America’s Top 200 Lawyers
Joseph Sellers has been named to Forbes’ inaugural list of America’s Top 200 Lawyers. The attorneys selected are not just the finest in the field. They are, in many cases, change agents in every corner of the profession—whether through breakthrough deals, blockbuster cases, societal reform, creating precedent or changing lives through public interest work. All are lawyers […]
In the News | Forbes
February 16, 2024
Trump Opts Against Appealing Civil Immunity Claim in Jan. 6 Lawsuits to Supreme Court
Former President Trump and his legal team have decided against appealing a court’s decision that found he is not immune from civil lawsuits that blame him for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, after they previously signaled he would file an appeal. Trump’s decision to not take his broader immunity claim to the Supreme […]
In the News | The Hill
December 15, 2023
Cohen Milstein Team Among Legal Lions of the Week
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Andrus Anderson LLP, and Goldstein Borgen Dardarian & Ho made Law360’s Legal Lions of the Week list after a California state judge on Dec. 8 certified a class of at least 8,900 women who say The Walt Disney Co. paid them less than their male colleagues, rejecting Disney’s argument […]
In the News | Law360
December 1, 2023
Trump Has To Face Riot Suits, DC Circ. Affirms
Former President Donald Trump must face a trio of lawsuits seeking to hold him liable for inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, a D.C. Circuit panel ruled Friday, rejecting Trump’s claim that he has absolute immunity from liability. In a highly anticipated opinion delivered a year after the case was argued […]
In the News | Law360
December 1, 2023
Federal Appeals Court Finds Trump Not Entitled to Presidential Immunity in Jan. 6 Civil Cases — For Now
The ruling by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C. allows a number of pending lawsuits against the former president to proceed. A federal appeals court on Friday rejected former President Donald Trump’s bid to dismiss civil claims seeking to hold him to account for the Jan. 6 riot, 2021 at the U.S. […]
In the News | NBC News
December 1, 2023
Appeals Court Says Jan. 6 Suits Against Trump Can Proceed for Now
The court left open the possibility that the former president could still prevail in his effort to claim immunity from civil cases seeking to hold him accountable for the violence. A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that civil lawsuits seeking to hold former President Donald J. Trump accountable for the violence that erupted at […]
In the News | The New York Times
July 17, 2023
Joseph Sellers Delivers Elite Trial Lawyers Lifetime Achievement Award Remarks
REMARKS AT NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD CEREMONY JULY 13, 2023 Thank you so much for this wonderful recognition. It’s a real honor to be among the distinguished company of those honored this evening and in years past. Like most of us, I’m so preoccupied with upcoming deadlines, that I rarely reflect on how […]
Events
July 17, 2023
‘Civil Rights Law Protects Everybody’: Joseph Sellers on His Fight For the Disenfranchised
The National Law Journal recently recognized Joseph Sellers, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll co-chair of the firm’s civil rights & employment practice, with the Elite Trial Lawyers Lifetime Achievement Award. He sat down with NLJ to discuss some of his career milestones as well as concerns he has for the future of civil rights in the […]
In the News
July 4, 2023
Disney Shorted Women Middle Managers $150M, Workers Say
The Walt Disney Co. has paid its women employees in middle management at least $150 million less than men in substantially similar positions, according to a lawsuit filed by a group of current and former Disney employees, who on Friday asked a Los Angeles judge for class treatment. The women, who first filed the proposed […]
In the News | Law360
March 27, 2023
Lawmakers Say DOJ Rejection Of Trump Immunity Too Narrow
Federal lawmakers and police officers seeking to hold former President Donald Trump responsible for inciting the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol have told the D.C. Circuit that the U.S. Department of Justice’s suggested ruling in the case would be too narrow. Eleven members of the U.S. House of Representatives and two U.S. […]
In the News | Law360
March 7, 2023
Class Action OK to Continue vs Vee Pak, Staffing Network Over Alleged Discrimination vs Black Temp Workers
A class action lawsuit alleging a suburban beauty supply distributor and staffing agencies enforced discriminatory practices against Black workers is moving forward. Named plaintiffs Joe Eagle, Michael Keys, James Zollicoffer and Evan Franklin filed suit alleging that Vee Pak, located in Countryside and Hodgkins, had a policy that favored hiring Latino workers over Black applicants, […]
In the News | Cook County Record
March 2, 2023
DOJ Says Trump Not Immune From Capitol Riot Suits
The U.S. Department of Justice told the D.C. Circuit on Thursday that former President Donald Trump is not immune from a trio of lawsuits filed by lawmakers and U.S. Capitol Police officers accusing him of inciting the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in January 2021. In an amicus brief, the department told the appellate […]
In the News | Law360
February 23, 2023
Temporary Workers Get Class Status In Decade-Old Bias Suit
An Illinois federal judge gave class status to a group of about 13,500 Black workers who say they were turned away from temporary jobs at a beauty product manufacturer by three staffing agencies because of their race, noting that testimony suggests the manufacturer had a common employment policy. U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp Jr. […]
In the News | Law360
December 7, 2022
DC Circ. Panel Doubtful on Trump Immunity for Capitol Riot
A D.C. Circuit panel seemed disinclined Wednesday to say former President Donald Trump has absolute immunity for his Jan. 6, 2021, rally speech given the “colorable case of incitement” at issue, but wrestled with how to structure a limit on presidential immunity. During a nearly two-hour oral argument, U.S. Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas said several […]
In the News | Law360
September 30, 2022
Law Professors Tell DC Circ. Trump Must Face Riot Suits
Constitutional law professors on Friday came out against former President Donald Trump’s bid to assert absolute immunity in three lawsuits seeking to hold him liable for the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, telling the D.C. Circuit Trump’s actions that day were more akin to a “disgruntled candidate” than president. Six professors from […]
In the News | Law360
September 30, 2022
Bakery, Staffing Firm To Pay $1M To End Race Screening Suit
Black employees claiming an industrial baker and the staffing firm it contracted with illegally denied them work have asked an Illinois federal judge for an initial sign-off on a $1 million deal resolving their class action lawsuit after roughly nine years of litigation. The workers alleged that Gold Standard Baking Inc. and staffing firm Personnel […]
In the News | Law360
September 26, 2022
Lawmakers, Police Tell DC Circ. Trump Must Face Riot Suits
Former President Donald Trump acted outside his presidential duties when he spoke to supporters ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and is not immune from three lawsuits seeking to hold him liable for the attack, lawmakers and police officers have told the D.C. Circuit. In a joint brief filed Friday, 11 Democratic […]
In the News | Law360
June 28, 2022
Aide’s Testimony That Trump Was Told of Weapons Could Boost Civil Suits
The revelation at a House Jan. 6 hearing could be fodder for cases arguing that Trump knew violence was likely when he sent backers to the Capitol. A White House aide’s bombshell testimony on Tuesday about then-President Donald Trump’s actions and statements on Jan. 6, 2021, could give a major boost to a series of […]
In the News | Politico
June 9, 2022
Sterling Jewelers and Cohen Milstein Announce Agreement in Class Action Litigation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS CONTACT Tammy Mangan, Director of Marketing press@cohenmilstein.com STERLING JEWELERS AND COHEN MILSTEIN ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT IN CLASS ACTION LITIGATION Joint Statement Sterling Jewelers and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll are pleased to announce an agreement which, subject to approval by the Arbitrator, will resolve a legal dispute initiated in 2008 that involved […]
Press Releases
June 9, 2022
Jewelry Giant Settles Gender-Discrimination Lawsuit for $175 Million
The case, in which 68,000 women alleged unfair pay and promotion practices, had become a hallmark of #MeToo activism Sterling Jewelers, the American diamond empire that owns Jared and Kay Jewelers, has agreed to pay $175 million to settle a long-fought class-action lawsuit alleging that the company had for years discriminated against tens of thousands […]
In the News | The Washington Post
May 2, 2022
How Forced Arbitration Is Making It Harder for Low-Wage Workers to Seek Justice
More than 60 million Americans in the nonunion private sector workforce have been shut out of the court system by companies that force them to arbitrate in the event of a dispute, according to a 2019 study by Professor Alexander J.S. Colvin of the ILR School at Cornell University. But given the costs, many of those […]
In the News | Capital & Main
April 18, 2022
Feds Can’t Get Female FBI Trainees’ Bias Suit Trimmed
A D.C. federal judge shot down an attempt by the Justice Department to throw out the bulk of a proposed class action by more than a dozen women alleging they were systematically driven out of the FBI agent training program and subjected to sexist double standards. In a one-page order filed Friday, U.S. District Judge Jia M. […]
In the News | Law360
March 14, 2022
Trial To Ask: Was Tenant Screener’s Conduct Discriminatory?
A bench trial starting Monday in Connecticut federal court will determine if a third-party company’s conduct while screening tenants was racially discriminatory in violation of the Fair Housing Act, a claim that is typically leveled at individual housing providers. The 2018 suit against CoreLogic Rental Property Solutions, which has since been spun off as SafeRent […]
In the News | Law360
March 9, 2022
Drug and Alcohol Rehab Programs Promise Recovery Through Work – but Deliver Slave Labor
Cohen Milstein Has a Filed Lawsuit Against The Salvation Army ARC for Unpaid Wages. CLICK HERE to Learn Who is Eligible to Join. December 9, 2020 By not paying recovering addicts for their work, residential programs don’t provide the most effective approach to healing patients. Plus, it’s illegal. By D. Michael Hancock, former assistant administrator for […]
Articles | NBC Think
February 19, 2022
Judge Rejects Effort by Trump to Toss Jan. 6 Lawsuits
A federal judge has rejected efforts by former President Donald Trump to toss out conspiracy lawsuits filed by lawmakers and two Capitol police officers, saying in his ruling that the former president’s words “plausibly” led to the riot on Jan. 6, 2021. U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta said in his Friday ruling that Trump’s […]
In the News | AP News
February 18, 2022
Trump Must Face Civil Suits Alleging Jan. 6 Conspiracy, Judge Rules
A federal judge on Friday ruled that former President Donald Trump must face allegations that he stoked violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and conspired with extremist groups to disrupt Congress. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta of the District of Columbia found that the plaintiffs, which include Democratic members of Congress and U.S. […]
In the News | Law.com
February 18, 2022
Judge Allows Civil Suits to Proceed Against Trump Over Jan. 6
The ruling means the plaintiffs in three civil cases will likely be able to seek information from the former president over his role in the attack on the Capitol. A federal judge in Washington ruled on Friday that three civil lawsuits against Donald J. Trump related to the attack on the Capitol last January were […]
In the News | The New York Times
February 18, 2022
Trump Can’t Escape Riot Suits But Don Jr., Giuliani Do
A D.C. federal judge on Friday rejected former President Donald Trump’s claim that he has “absolute immunity” from a trio of lawsuits seeking to hold him liable for inciting last year’s deadly U.S. Capitol attack, saying the evidence shows that he assembled and directed thousands of supporters to march to the Capitol. U.S. District Judge […]
In the News | Law360
February 18, 2022
Judge Says Trump Could be Culpable for January 6 and Says Lawsuits Against the Former President Can Proceed
Civil lawsuits seeking to hold Donald Trump accountable for the January 6, 2021, insurrection can move forward in court, a federal judge said Friday in a ruling outlining how the former President could conceivably be responsible for inciting the attack on the US Capitol. Trump’s statements to his supporters before the riot “is the essence […]
In the News | CNN
January 19, 2022
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll Appoints Christine E. Webber as Co-Chair of Civil Rights & Employment Practice
Appointment recognizes nationally renowned class and collective action civil rights and employment litigator and industry thought leader Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, a leading U.S. plaintiffs’ law firm, has appointed Christine E. Webber co-chair of the firm’s nationally recognized Civil Rights & Employment practice. A civil rights and employment class and collective action law […]
Press Releases | Cohen Milstein
January 10, 2022
In Marathon Hearing Over Jan. 6 Civil Lawsuits Against Trump, Judge Questions How Far Presidential Immunity Can Go
A federal judge in Washington on Monday wrestled with whether ex-President Donald Trump is immune from civil lawsuits filed over last year’s Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta of the District of Columbia, who is simultaneously presiding over criminal prosecutions stemming from the Jan. 6 violence, pressed an attorney […]
In the News | The National Law Journal
November 12, 2021
Ensuring the Laws Barring Sexual Harassment Protect the Reticent Victim
According to multiple employee surveys, sexual harassment is one of the most underreported forms of abuse in the workplace. There are a number of reasons that reportedly account for this reluctance to complain about sexual harassment. They include the potential shame, embarrassment, and fear that may accompany reports of sexual harassment and the blame and […]
Articles | American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law
November 10, 2021
Court Grants Final Approval for Landmark Flint Water Crisis Settlement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Flint Residents Will Start to Receive Financial Relief from the $626 Million Settlement FLINT, MI. – Interim Co-lead Class Counsel in the Flint water crisis litigation announced today that the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has granted final approval for the landmark $626 million partial settlement resulting from the class action and individual […]
Press Releases
November 2, 2021
Court Grants First-of-its-Kind D.C. Tenant Consent Agreement to Cease Illegal Suppression of Park 7 Tenants’ Right to Organize
Park 7 tenants have experienced prolonged racial and economic mistreatment from the building owners and property management company FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON – The Superior Court of the District of Columbia has approved a first-of-its kind tenant right to organize consent agreement between Park 7 Tenant Union and tenants of Park 7 Apartments, an affordable […]
Press Releases
October 28, 2021
Mandatory Arbitration at Work Surges Despite Efforts to Curb It
WHAT TO KNOW: Arbitration cases grow in 2020, industry group report shows House lawmakers want to stop mandatory agreements The number of employment disputes resolved in arbitration climbed by roughly 66% between 2018 and 2020, according to new data, despite pressure from the #MeToo movement and efforts by Fortune 500 companies and lawmakers to curb […]
In the News | Bloomberg Law
October 5, 2021
How U.S. Sexual-Harassment Law Encourages a Culture of Victim Blaming
Melissa Nelson was 20 years old when she was hired to work as a dental assistant for James Knight. Nelson had worked in his Fort Dodge, Iowa, office for more than a decade before he fired her in 2010. The problems began a year and a half earlier. On several occasions, Knight complained to Nelson […]
In the News | TIME
August 11, 2021
Flint Federal Judge Certifies Issues Classes Against Remaining Flint Water Crisis Defendants
FLINT, MI – Interim Co-lead Class Counsel in the Flint water crisis litigation announced that Federal Judge Judith Levy of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan entered an order granting Class Certification on liability claims in the ongoing litigation against private engineering firms Lockwood, Andrews & Newman (LAN) and Veolia, […]
In the News
July 22, 2021
D.C. Renters’ Lawsuit Is a Blueprint for Tenant Organizing
A lawsuit filed on Wednesday by a group of tenants against a major Washington, D.C.-area developer stands to be the first test of the bounds of the most robust tenants’ rights laws in the country. The litigation could establish a model for renters to enforce their fundamental housing rights amid a spiraling housing affordability crisis […]
In the News | Reuters
July 21, 2021
The Flint Water Crisis Cover-Up
Wiped Phones and the Battle for Evidence in Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s Prosecution In October 2015, then-Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder finally announced that Flint’s water was contaminated with dangerous lead levels. That public admission had come after more than a year of pleading from the city’s residents to examine the situation. The city, Snyder […]
In the News | The Intercept
July 21, 2021
Park 7 Residential Sued for Illegally Suppressing Tenants’ Right to Organize
Tenants have experienced prolonged racial and economic mistreatment from the building owners and property management company FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON – Today, the Park 7 Tenant Union and tenants of Park 7 Apartments, an affordable housing apartment building located at 4020 Minnesota Ave. in Northeast D.C. comprised mainly of Black residents, filed suit in a […]
Press Releases
June 22, 2021
Is Biden’s Justice Department Actually Going to Defend Trump Against Capitol Riot Lawsuits?
Earlier this month, this website wondered aloud, “Why the hell is Joe Biden’s Justice Department defending Donald Trump?” The question arose from a bizarre, troubling pattern of late in which the DOJ, currently lead by Attorney General Merrick Garland, has gone to bat for the ex-president. In May, for example, the department filed a motion […]
In the News | Vanity Fair
June 22, 2021
The PRO Act Offers Some Hope for Protecting Workers’ Rights
We are at a crossroads that will determine how the nation’s workers can protect their own rights as the defense bar is working feverishly to erect barricades to the few remaining legal avenues workers have left to address workplace disputes. With the enthusiastic support of the U.S. Supreme Court, large employers have overwhelmingly required their […]
Articles | Bloomberg Law
June 17, 2021
10 Years of Dukes: Workplace Bias Class Claims Are Still Alive
In Wal-Mart Stores Inc. v. Dukes,[1] the U.S. Supreme Court on June 20, 2011, decertified a class of approximately 1.5 million women, depriving the group of the chance to vindicate claims of systemic workplace discrimination. In doing so, the Supreme Court revised the requirements for establishing commonality, reversed decades of unanimous circuit authority permitting certification […]
Articles | Law360 Employment Authority
June 4, 2021
Google, Oracle Class Certifications Show Blueprint for Pay Cases
Prior pay targeted in Google class action lawsuit State equal pay cases can be easier to prove A California judge’s order allowing a class of 10,000 women to pursue pay discrimination claims against Google Inc. offers a roadmap for other plaintiffs seeking to tackle gender inequity in the workplace, in contrast to other battles against technology giants […]
In the News | Bloomberg Law
April 28, 2021
US Will Pay $44 Million in Age-Bias Case by Ex-FAA Workers
The U.S. government will pay nearly $44 million to settle an age-discrimination case filed 16 years ago on behalf of hundreds of workers who missed out on federal pensions after their jobs were outsourced. Lawyers for the 761 workers say the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Department decided to outsource the jobs because many […]
In the News | Associated Press
April 28, 2021
FAA & DOT Agree to Record-Breaking $43.8 Million Settlement in Age Discrimination Lawsuit
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Settlement is the Largest Ever Payout From the Federal Government for Age Discrimination Claims Hundreds of Flight Service Specialists Sued FAA After Their Roles Were Contracted Out in 2005 Because of Their Age WASHINGTON D.C. – Attorneys representing 670 former flight service (FS) specialists employees announced a record-breaking $43.8 million settlement today with the […]
Press Releases
April 7, 2021
10 More Congress Members Join Lawsuit Accusing Trump, Giuliani, Proud Boys, Oath Keepers of Capitol Riot Conspiracy
Ten more Democratic members of Congress on Wednesday joined a federal lawsuit accusing former President Donald Trump, his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and several right-wing extremist groups of conspiring to incite the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol complex riot. The suit, first filed by Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and the NAACP, accuses the defendants of violating […]
In the News | CNBC
April 7, 2021
Trump Faces Legal Pressure Over Capitol Riot as More Democratic Lawmakers Join Lawsuit
Trump is now being sued by 11 members of Congress and two U.S. Capitol police officers over the Jan. 6 riot. Ten more members of Congress are joining a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump over the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, alleging that he and others violated federal law in inciting the […]
In the News | The National Law Journal
February 26, 2021
Chipotle Reaches $15M OT Deal Amid ‘Novel’ DOL Rule Issues
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. has agreed to pay $15 million to resolve class claims that the restaurant chain improperly failed to pay overtime to management trainees based on a controversial U.S. Department of Labor overtime expansion rule, according to a motion filed Friday in New Jersey federal court. In what would end a legal battle […]
In the News | Law360
February 16, 2021
NAACP Sues Trump for Inciting Capitol Riot
The NAACP filed a lawsuit Tuesday against former President Trump and far-right extremist groups in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riots that killed five people and injured dozens of officers. Why it matters: The federal lawsuit filed on behalf of House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) shows that Trump continues to face legal […]
In the News | Axios
February 16, 2021
Democratic Congressman Sues Trump Over Role in Capitol Riot
The Democratic chairman of the House Homeland Security committee accused Donald Trump in a federal lawsuit on Tuesday of inciting the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and of conspiring with his lawyer and extremist groups to try to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the presidential election he lost to Joe Biden. The […]
In the News | Associated Press
February 16, 2021
Trump, Giuliani Accused of Conspiring to Incite U.S. Capitol Riot in New Lawsuit
The NAACP, on behalf of Rep. Bennie Thompson (D., Miss.), filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against former President Donald Trump and his former personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, accusing them of conspiring to incite the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The lawsuit also names two right-wing groups, Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, […]
In the News | The Wall Street Journal
February 16, 2021
Trump Faces First Lawsuit Over Capitol Riots, Alleging Conspiracy to Block Certification of Election Results
Attorneys with Cohen Milstein and the NAACP allege the Jan. 6 riots were “the intended and foreseeable culmination of a carefully coordinated campaign to interfere with the legal process required to confirm the tally of votes cast in the Electoral College.” Donald Trump is facing his first lawsuit for inciting the violent Jan. 6 riot […]
In the News | The National Law Journal
February 16, 2021
Civil Rights Group Files Lawsuit Against Trump Over US Capitol Attack
The NAACP, the prominent civil rights organisation, has filed a federal lawsuit against Donald Trump, his attorney Rudy Giuliani and two white supremacist groups over their role in the deadly January 6 siege on the US Capitol. The lawsuit underscores how the former president’s legal woes are far from over, even after he was acquitted […]
In the News | Financial Times
February 16, 2021
NAACP Sues Trump and Giuliani Over Election Fight and Jan. 6 Riot
The civil rights group brought the suit on behalf of Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, with other Democrats in Congress expected to join as plaintiffs. The N.A.A.C.P. on Tuesday morning filed a federal lawsuit against former President Donald J. Trump and his personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani, claiming that they violated a 19th century statute […]
In the News | The New York Times
February 16, 2021
House Homeland Security Chairman Sues Trump and Giuliani, Accusing Them of Inciting Capitol Riot
The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit accusing former president Donald Trump, lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani and two extremist groups whose members have been charged in the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol of illegally conspiring to intimidate and block Congress’s certification of the 2020 election. Rep. Bennie […]
In the News | The Washington Post
February 16, 2021
Congressman Bennie Thompson Files Federal Lawsuit Accusing Trump and Giuliani of Inciting Capitol Riot
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Lawsuit Alleges Violation of the “Ku Klux Klan Act,” a Civil War-Era Statute Prohibiting Interference with Congress’ Constitutional Duties. Filed by NAACP and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, Lawsuit Also Names Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. WASHINGTON D.C.—Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson filed a federal lawsuit today accusing Donald J. Trump, Rudy Giuliani, […]
In the News
February 16, 2021
Cohen Milstein Reps Lawmaker Suing Trump for Capitol Riot
Attorneys at Cohen Milstein and the NAACP are representing a Democratic lawmaker who sued former President Donald Trump and others on Tuesday for allegedly causing the deadly Capitol riot in January and violating the Reconstruction-era Ku Klux Klan Act. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, said he expects […]
In the News | Law360
February 16, 2021
Congressman, NAACP Sue Trump and Giuliani Over Capitol Riot
The lawsuit accuses the former president of conspiring with two extremist groups to block the Electoral College vote count. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and the NAACP filed a lawsuit Tuesday against former President Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani, accusing them of conspiring with two extremist groups to block the presidential vote count by storming the […]
In the News | NBC News
October 22, 2020
New Federal Rule Will Make it Harder to Challenge Discrimination in the Housing Industry, Lawsuits Allege
A pair of lawsuits aim to stop a HUD rule set to go into effect next week that will weaken a key fair housing tool. Civil rights groups on Thursday filed a pair of lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and HUD Secretary Ben Carson for weakening an Obama-era rule meant […]
In the News | The Washington Post
September 21, 2020
5 Times Justice Ginsburg Left an Imprint on Employment Law
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg made waves by taking issue with majority rulings in cases involving fair pay for women and access to birth control, but those dissents represent just a fraction of her output during nearly three decades on the U.S. Supreme Court. And while attorneys say there are plenty of other employment cases in […]
In the News | Law360
August 20, 2020
Landmark $600 Millon Preliminary Agreement Reached in Flint Water Litigation Provides Relief to Residents, Property Owners and Businesses
For Information About the Proposed Settlement If you are a Flint resident or business owner and you’d like information about the proposed settlement, please go to www.FlintWaterJustice.com. If you would like to speak to someone directly about the settlement or if you need assistance with the form, please call: 1-866-536-0717 or text: “Flint” to 47177 […]
In the News
August 20, 2020
Flint Residents to Get $600 Million From Michigan Over Lead-Tainted Water
Settlement helps resolve five-year legal fight over one of nation’s worst public-health emergencies Five years after the lead-tainted drinking water crisis in Flint, one of the nation’s worst public health emergencies, the state of Michigan has reached a settlement to compensate residents. On Thursday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said the state would pay $600 […]
In the News | The Wall Street Journal
August 20, 2020
Most of $600 Million Settlement in Flint Water Crisis Will Go to Children
The settlement still needs federal court approval, but Flint residents were being cautiously optimistic after the drawn-out crisis: “I just want it to be over.” Since contaminated water began running from taps in Flint six years ago, perhaps the biggest worry was the lasting effect on the Michigan city’s 25,000 children. Along with skin rashes […]
In the News | New York Times
August 20, 2020
Here’s How Flint Families Will Get Paid in Water Crisis Settlement
The process of distributing $600 million to more than 33,000 Flint water victims will likely take months to complete, and it’s unlikely the money for the settlement will be available until the beginning of 2021. The settlement will encompass all Flint children who were younger than the age of 18 at the time of the […]
In the News | The Detroit News
August 20, 2020
Governor Whitmer Statement on $600M Preliminary Settlement for Flint Water Civil Lawsuits
Press Release Issued by: Governor of Michigan LANSING, Mich. – Last week, the State of Michigan agreed to a $600 million settlement of the civil lawsuits brought against the State of Michigan by Flint residents after the water supply for the City of Flint was switched to the Flint River on April 25, 2014. Governor […]
In the News
August 17, 2020
High Court Urged to Steer Clear of Sex Bias Arbitration Fight
Tens of thousands of women who claim Sterling Jewelers improperly shorted them on pay and promotions pressed the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to turn aside the company’s effort to limit when workers can pursue class arbitration, saying its legal rationale doesn’t hold water. The group of around 70,000 women urged the high court to […]
In the News | Law360
August 4, 2020
Ill. Judge OKs $588K Deal to End Discriminatory Hiring Row
An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday granted final approval to a $588K deal that settles allegations national staffing agency MVP subjected a class of Black workers to discriminatory hiring practices. U.S. District Judge John Tharp said during a telephone hearing that the agreement among the class, MVP — also known as Personnel Staffing Group LLC […]
In the News | Law360
June 18, 2020
Law360’s Weekly Verdict: Legal Lions & Lambs: DACA
In another win at the U.S. Supreme Court, the justices on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, preserving protections for hundreds of thousands of young unauthorized immigrants and landing their attorneys at the New York Attorney General’s Office, California Attorney General’s Office, Jenner & Block LLP, Covington […]
In the News
June 18, 2020
Supreme Court Blocks Trump’s Bid to End DACA, a Win for Undocumented ‘Dreamers
The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle the program protecting undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children, a reprieve for nearly 650,000 recipients known as “dreamers.” The 5 to 4 decision was written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and joined by the court’s four liberals. It was […]
In the News | The Washington Post
May 14, 2020
Law360’s Weekly Verdict Legal Lions & Lambs: Emoluments Litigation
Legal Lions Rounding out this week’s legal lions group are the Maryland and D.C. attorneys general offices, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC and Gupta Wessler PLLC. The Fourth Circuit on Thursday rejected President Donald Trump’s request to throw out a lawsuit by Maryland and the District of Columbia […]
In the News
May 14, 2020
4th Circ. Revives Emoluments Case Against Trump
The Fourth Circuit on Thursday rejected President Donald Trump’s request to throw out a lawsuit by Maryland and the District of Columbia over allegations that his ownership stake in the Trump International Hotel violates the U.S. Constitution’s emoluments clause. The appeals court voted 9-6 to allow the case to move forward at a Maryland district […]
In the News | Law360
April 27, 2020
Court OKs Settlement Resolving North Dakota Voter ID Suit
A North Dakota federal judge on Monday approved a settlement between Native American tribes and North Dakota’s secretary of state that expands voter identification options for tribe members at the polls. The Spirit Lake Tribe and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe submitted a consent decree Friday with Secretary of State Al Jaeger, formalizing a settlement the […]
In the News | Law360
April 2, 2020
Judge Certifies Class in Race-Bias Suit Against Bakery, Temp Agency
A long-running lawsuit that accuses Gold Standard Baking Inc and Illinois-based temporary staffing agency MVP of favoring Hispanic workers over African Americans can proceed as a class action with potentially more than 1,000 members, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis ruled late Tuesday in Chicago. Beyond its effect on this litigation, filed in 2013, the ruling […]
In the News | Reuters
April 1, 2020
Class Certified in Black Workers’ Staffing Agency Bias Suit
Black workers who allege racial bias caused MVP Staffing and client Gold Standard Baking Inc. to largely exclude them from temporary assignments at the bakery’s Chicago-based production facility can pursue the case as a class action, the Northern District of Illinois ruled. The Cicero, Ill., office of Personnel Staffing Group LLC, which does business as […]
In the News | Bloomberg Law
February 19, 2020
MIT Has Agreed to Make Its Website and Online Educational Videos More Accessible to People Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
“The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has agreed to make its website and online educational videos more accessible to people who are deaf and hard of hearing. It is part of a settlement in a federal lawsuit brought by the National Association of the Deaf and other plaintiffs. The announcement comes months after the plaintiffs reached […]
In the News | NPR National
February 18, 2020
MIT to Caption Online Videos After Discrimination Lawsuit
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has agreed to provide captions for more of its publicly available online videos as part of a settlement announced Tuesday in a case that accused the school of discriminating against people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The settlement comes months after a similar deal was reached in a […]
In the News | Associated Press
February 18, 2020
Landmark Agreements Establish New Model for Online Accessibility in Higher Education and Business
Settlement with MIT Follows Similar Agreement with Harvard University to Caption Online Content Agreements Represent the Most Comprehensive Set of Online Accessibility Requirements BOSTON—The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) announced today a landmark settlement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that institutes a series of new guidelines to make the university’s website and online resources accessible […]
In the News
September 18, 2019
Walmart to Resolve Sex-Bias Claims
Walmart Inc. has agreed to work toward resolving the cases of 178 female employees who claim they were paid less than male co-workers or denied promotions because of their sex, a spokesman for the Bentonville retailer said Tuesday. Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove said the company told the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission it is “willing to […]
In the News | Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
September 17, 2019
Walmart Likely Discriminated Against Female Store Workers, EEOC Finds
Retailer tells agency it is willing to engage in conciliatory process Walmart Inc. likely discriminated against 178 female workers by paying less or denying promotions because of their gender, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in memos viewed by The Wall Street Journal. The EEOC documents ask Walmart and the women who filed complaints to […]
In the News | The Wall Street Journal
September 10, 2019
Flint’s Deadly Water, A Documentary
In 2014, in an effort to save money, the City of Flint switched its water supply to water drawn from the highly contaminated Flint River. That change set into motion a series of events that ended with many of the City’s nearly 8,000 small children permanently harmed by lead poisoning, and over 30,000 of the […]
In the News | PBS FRONTLINE
May 9, 2019
Nearly Two Decades Ago, Women Across the Country Sued Walmart for Discrimination. They’re Not Done Fighting
From the time she got her job at Pace Membership Warehouse in Roseville, Calif., in 1993, Claudia Renati was determined to advance. Her husband had been injured and couldn’t work, and the housing market plummeted in the early ’90s, hitting them hard. “I needed steady income to keep our house,” she recalls. When Sam’s Club, […]
In the News | TIME
April 23, 2019
The Company That Sells Love to America Had a Dark Secret
For thousands of women, working at the nation’s largest jewelry retailer meant unequal pay, harassment or worse. The pay-and-promotions lawsuit against Sterling Jewelers Inc. began the way a lot of these things begin: In 2005, Dawn Souto-Coons walked out of the jewelry store where she had been a successful assistant manager and into a local […]
In the News | The New York Times Magazine
August 13, 2018
Keepseagle Settlement Makes Final Payments, Closing Out Landmark Racial Discrimination Case Against Federal Government
For Immediate Release $38 million to benefit non-profit organizations serving Native American farmers and ranchers, and $266 million to fund The Native American Agriculture Fund – Largest Native American Philanthropic Institution WASHINGTON, D.C. – In light of the Supreme Court’s March 26, 2018 decision declining to hear an appeal over the disposition of $380 million […]
Press Releases
February 23, 2018
Staffing Firm Clients Can’t Skirt ‘Racial Preference’ Bias Suit
Clients of a nationwide staffing agency that allegedly honored company requests not to refer black workers for temporary gigs whiffed in their bid for an early exit from a proposed class action accusing them and the agency of racial bias. No direct contractual relationship existed between the five workers who filed the lawsuit and the […]
In the News | Bloomberg Law
October 27, 2017
Is Mandatory Arbitration Harmful to Harassment Victims?
Charges of workplace sexual harassment have exploded into the news in recent months as allegations by dozens of women have forced the resignations of such high-profile figures as Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick, Fox TV host Bill O’Reilly and — in perhaps the most spectacular fall from grace — iconic Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Many observers […]
Articles | CQ Researcher
September 25, 2017
Workers Must Be Able to Join to Fight Injustice
Imagine that you are an employee working your way up the corporate ladder. You’ve spent years following the rules, paying your proverbial dues, and seemingly excelling in your current position. With your sights set on a move to management, you apply for a promotion. It’s denied. Disappointed but not defeated, you apply for a promotion […]
Articles | The Los Angeles ❘ San Francisco Daily Journal
September 18, 2017
States, Schools and Dreamers: Courts Bombarded With DACA Suits
The web of litigation surrounding President Donald Trump’s decision to end a program protecting certain children of undocumented immigrants from deportation is swelling rapidly, with two new lawsuits filed Monday. Legal legends are behind the two latest suits. One, in a Washington, D.C., federal court, was brought by the NAACP with the help of plaintiffs’ […]
In the News | The National Law Journal
August 16, 2017
Civil Rights Groups File Amicus Brief as the Supreme Court of the United States Scrutinizes Workers’ Rights
Washington, D.C. — To protect the rights of workers, the Impact Fund has teamed up with leading civil rights law firms, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (“LDF”) and Cohen Milstein, to file an amicus brief on behalf of more than thirty civil rights organizations from across the country in a trio of cases […]
In the News
May 16, 2017
Court OKs Plan for $380M in Native American Farmer Lawsuit
An appeals court panel on Tuesday approved a lower court’s plan for distributing $380 million left over from the U.S. government’s loan discrimination settlement with American Indian farmers and ranchers six years ago. President Barack Obama’s administration agreed in 2011 to pay $680 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed in 1999 by Indian farmers […]
In the News | Associated Press
February 15, 2017
Plaintiffs’ Firm Squares Off with Trump Administration
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, a 90-lawyer plaintiffs’ firm known for suing big companies and banks, has positioned itself as an early courtroom foe of President Donald Trump. Partner Joseph M. Sellers is now listed as one of the lead attorneys for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in its lawsuit against Mr. […]
In the News | The Wall Street Journal
April 21, 2016
North Carolina Takes a Giant Step Backward by Enacting House Bill 2
North Carolina has justifiably been pilloried in recent weeks for enacting legislation that requires public school students and state employees to use the bathrooms reserved for their biological sex, regardless of the gender with which they identify. In many ways, this legislation resurrects memories of racially segregated restrooms that were mandated by law until the […]
Articles | American Constitution Society
April 7, 2010
Cohen Milstein Reaches $10M Settlement Deal in Pilgrim’s Pride FLSA Suit
Poultry company Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will pay $10 million to settle the class action lawsuit which accused it of failing to pay overtime to over 8,000 employees in 11 states. Cohen Milstein attorneys, who represent the plaintiffs, say that the deal will allow class members to recover about 85 percent of the back pay that […]
In the News | Law360
Drug and Alcohol Rehab Programs Promise Recovery Through Work – but Deliver Slave Labor – NBC Think
The PRO Act Offers Some Hope for Protecting Workers’ Rights, Bloomberg Law
10 Years of Dukes: Workplace Bias Class Claims Are Still Alive – Law360 Employment Authority
At Issue: Is Mandatory Arbitration Harmful to Harassment Victims? CQ Researcher
Workers Must Be Able to Join to Fight Injustice, The Los Angeles ❘ San Francisco Daily Journal
North Carolina Takes a Giant Step Backward by Enacting House Bill 2