Sanjana Manjeshwar - Grant Program Associate In our spring grantmaking cycle, we granted $131,500 to support three impact lawsuits across the country. Our new grantees are doing incredible work to protect the rights of foster youth, challenge the racially biased use of surveillance technology, and prevent gender discrimination in insurance pricing. We are grateful to be supporting these important cases—these are the compelling stories behind them.  Protecting the Rights of Foster Children in Alaska  In Jeremiah M. et al. v. Crum et al., a class action lawsuit against Alaska’s foster ..read more

Jeremiah Miller - Legal Director, Fair Work Center The Assurecare Workers’ Story Caregivers providing long-term care in commercial settings are tasked with a responsibility critical to a compassionate society: protecting and caring for elderly and disabled people. This work is physically demanding and exposes caregivers to serious workplace injuries and illnesses. In fact, this kind of caregiving work is the ninth most dangerous occupation nationally, more dangerous than working in a steel foundry. But, despite the high priority of their work and its inherent danger, live-in caregivers in the ..read more

Carolina Romulo Mendoza y Catarino Zapote Hernandez Trabajadores valientes; Isabel Zelaya, Gerónimo Guerrero, Catarino Zapote Hernández, Martha Pulido, Carolina Rómulo Mendoza y María del Pilar González Cruz ingresaron al Salón de la Fama de las Demandas Colectivas. Comenzó como un día como cualquier otro, pero luego ICE allanó una planta empacadora de carne de Tennessee. Al carecer de información individualizada sobre los trabajadores de la planta, los agentes federales y las fuerzas del orden de Tennessee conspiraron para detener a todos los trabajadores que parecían latinos sin tener en cu ..read more

Carolina Romulo Mendoza and Catarino Zapote Hernandez Courageous workers; Isabel Zelaya, Geronimo Guerrero, Catarino Zapote Hernandez, Martha Pulido, Carolina Romulo Mendoza, and Maria del Pilar Gonzalez Cruz inducted into Class Action Hall of Fame. It started as a day like any other but then ICE raided a Tennessee meatpacking plant. Lacking any individualized information about the workers in the plant, federal agents and Tennessee law enforcement conspired to detain every worker who looked Latinx without regard to citizenship or documentation. The officers also used excessive force. For Caro ..read more

Joe Sellers, Loren Donnell, Sam Smith, and Tommy Warren, who are among the counsel for the class. Courageous women inducted into Impact Fund Class Action Hall of Fame. In 2005, when this case began with the filing of the initial five EEOC charges of discrimination, Sterling Jewelers Inc. (“Sterling”) was already the largest specialty jeweler in the United States with stores operating in all 50 states. The initial charges of discrimination described a company-wide pattern of discrimination in the pay and promotions practices of Sterling adverse to its female employees. Sterling’s pay discrimin ..read more

Doering Meyer, named plaintiff in: Meyer v. Blinken (Dept. of State) Courageous workers with disabilities; Doering Meyer and Dr. Ryan Gibson, inducted into Impact Fund Class Action Hall of Fame. In 2006, the State Department denied me the Class 1 medical clearance necessary to begin a position with the Foreign Service. The agency's only reason was my “diagnosed neurological condition,” based on my 1994 multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis.  They did not consider whether my MS would affect my ability to perform the essential functions of a Foreign Service Officer, but rather thwarted my care ..read more

Darryl White, named Plaintiff in Black Parallel School Board v. Sacramento City Unified School District Courageous parents; Darryl White, Carl Pinkston, LaRayvian Barnes, Seth Sandronsky, and Roslyn Sandronsky inducted into Impact Fund Class Action Hall of Fame. In 2018, through my work with the Black Parallel School Board (“BPSB”), I was at a community meeting when a startling revelation caught my attention. The community advisory leadership for special education had resigned in protest. The reason? Sacramento City Unified School District had ignored a 2017 report by the Council of Great Cit ..read more

Alan Mills - Executive Director, Uptown People’s Law Center “Compared to what it was before we started the case, this is heaven. But compared to what it was two years ago, I’m back in hell.”  - Patrice Daniels, Impact Fund Class Action Hall of Fame Honoree  Patrice’s Story  The Joliet Treatment Center (JTC) was unlike any prison Patrice had been in. Instead of solitary confinement, JTC had group therapy. Instead of correctional officers, JTC had correctional treatment officers. The warden hung out in the gym and played games with the prisoners.   At first, Patrice was ..read more

John Henry Frankel, Legal Communications Technologist Have you ever felt frustrated trying to read a letter or email indicating you could be part of a class action lawsuit? If you just answered ‘yes,’ you are not alone. That communication – called a “class notice” – is the main way people learn that they can receive money and other benefits from class actions. However, many people find the information in class notices unclear. Unclear notices create a huge problem: people can’t understand their legal rights when they are part of class actions. When people can’t understand their legal rights ..read more

Nicole Friederichs, Director - Suffolk Law School Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples Clinic Many of us in the United States take for granted the fact that we can easily access any kind of media whenever we want to. However, this is not always the case for communities in other parts of the world. In Guatemala, the government has prohibited non-profit and community use of radio frequencies, only allowing for commercial radio stations. Because of this law, Indigenous communities throughout Guatemala are banned from operating radio stations—preventing them from using the radio to share informati ..read more