New Program Arms Immigrants Facing Deportation with Legal Aid
WNYC - November 20, 2013, by John Hockenberry - Fifty years ago, in a case called Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court mandated that those accused of a crime must be provided a lawyer,...
WNYC - November 20, 2013, by John Hockenberry - Fifty years ago, in a case called Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court mandated that those accused of a crime must be provided a lawyer, regardless of their ability to pay. With that decision the public defense system was born.
While Gideon has changed the equation for many indigent defendants, the law doesn't apply to all cases—just those in criminal court. Immigrants facing detention or deportation have no right to a court-appointed attorney and are left to advocate for themselves. In New York, at least 60 percent of detained immigrants lack access to counsel during their immigration proceedings.
But the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project is looking change that.
With funding from the New York City Council and Cardozo Law School in Manhattan, the Project—the first of its kind in the country—provides indigent immigrants representation in detention and deportation proceedings, regardless of whether they can pay.
The Project is the result of a task force of attorneys, activists and experts, chaired by Judge Robert Katzman, chief judge of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
According to the task force, immigrants facing deportation in New York courts that have the help of an attorney are 500 percent more likely to win their case than those who lack counsel. Judge Katzmann says he hopes the Immigrant Family Unity Project will allow more immigrants access to justice, while helping immigrant families to stay together.
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Report: City Agencies Noncompliant with Voter Registration Law
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Alison R. Park (917) 805-0830, apark@populardemocracy.org; Neal Rosenstein (917) 575-4317, nrosenstein@nypirg.org; Chelsea Schuster (561) 843-0197, cschuster@citizensunionfoundation.org; Margaret Fung (212) 966-5932 x201, mfung@aaldef.org; Erik Opsal (646) 292-8356, erik.opsal@nyu.edu.
Report: City Agencies Noncompliant with Voter Registration Law in 84 Percent of Client Interactions
Voting rights coalition working with Mayor, City Council, and agency heads to improve compliance
October 21, 2014, New York, NY – City agencies are not doing enough to help New Yorkers register to vote found a new report released today by the Pro-Voter Law Coalition. The coalition of groups is led by Center for Popular Democracy, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), Citizens Union of the City of New York, and the New York Public Interest Research Group/NYPIRG.
Last summer, Mayor de Blasio issued his first Mayoral Directive aimed to improve city agency voter registration efforts. The City passed local Law 29, also known as the Pro-Voter Law, in 2000 to expand voter registration opportunities at municipal agencies. Information for the report, A Broken Promise: Agency-Based Voter Registration in New York City, was obtained through Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests and field investigations, and revealed a lack of compliance across city agencies with the Pro-Voter Law. Key findings included:
Widespread failure to comply with the Pro-Voter Law’s requirement to provide voter registration application forms. Specifically, city agencies failed to do so in 84 percent of client interactions;
Efforts ranged from the inconsistent administration of the Pro-Voter Law, to an almost complete lack of apparent attempts to fully administer the law at the city agencies that responded to FOIL requests;
Increased noncompliance for limited English proficient New Yorkers. Only 40 percent, or 2 out of 5, of agency clients whose primary language was not English were given translated voter registration applications as mandated by the law; and
Agency staff received no regular training on voter registration procedures mandated by the law.
“Under previous Mayoral administrations, New York City has broken its promise to city voters by failing to comply with the Pro-Voter Law, and failing to create an electorate that is truly representative of our city,” said Steven Carbó, Director of Voting Rights and Democracy Initiatives at the Center for Popular Democracy. “We are heartened by Mayor de Blasio’s recent Mayoral Directive and his strong commitment to voter registration—and we look forward to working closely with his administration to realize our shared objectives.”
“Fourteen years ago, the threat of a veto by Mayor Giuliani weakened key provisions of the Pro-Voter Law, and then Mayor Bloomberg failed to properly implement it for 12 long years,” said Neal Rosenstein, Government Reform Coordinator of NYPIRG. “It’s time for today’s Council to strengthen the law and for Mayor de Blasio to clearly break with his predecessors and make sure it’s effectively implemented. Potential city voters deserve to be able to register as easily as New Yorkers can at DMV offices across the state under the federal Motor Voter Law.”
“Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy and increasing civic engagement is essential in making sure all New Yorkers are fully represented in government,” said New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. “That’s why it’s essential that the Pro-Voter Law is fully enforced and I thank the Center for Popular Democracy, Citizens Union, NYPIRG, The Brennan Center for Justice, and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund for their recommendations to strengthen compliance and engage more citizens in elections.”
“Voter participation is essential to our democracy, and with plummeting voter turnout, we must ensure that New Yorkers have more convenient opportunities to register to vote,” said Dick Dadey, Executive Director of Citizens Union. “This report outlines a needed framework for a model agency voter registration program that will result in robust efforts to encourage more New Yorkers to register.”
“Nothing is more important to democracy than voter participation. These are smart strategies to break down barriers to registering to vote for those who may be least likely to do so,” said Council Member Brad Landers. “Our city is strongest when everyone’s voices are heard.”
“Long lines and Election Day chaos are potent symbols of our nation’s broken voter registration system, and our research show that the same is true here in New York City,” said DeNora Getachew, Campaign Manager and Legislative Counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. “Our city needs to join the growing national movement to modernize elections by requiring agencies to electronically transmit voter registration information directly to the board of elections, instead of continuing to use outdated paper forms. This digital-age solution is win-win for voters and election officials. It will increase voter registration rates, save the city money, and make voter rolls more accurate.”
“We face a crisis of non-participation in New York City: Of the 8.5 million residents of New York City, only 4.3 million are registered to vote,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “City law dictates that our government help register voters—but this report shows that, in the vast majority of cases, it simply isn't happening. City agencies must comply with the law to offer voter registration forms to New Yorkers. To paraphrase Ben Franklin, it is our democracy, if we can keep it. And the task of keeping it must involve immediate action to remedy the failures of implementation of our city’s Pro-Voter laws.”
“Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the nation’s fastest growing racial group and comprise almost 14 percent of New York City’s population. Along with other communities of color and immigrant communities, these are important members of our city’s electorate who deserve to participate fully in the political process,” said Margaret Fung, Executive Director of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. “Compliance with the law’s language access mandates, including translated voter registration forms and bilingual staff at city agencies, is a critical first step to ensure meaningful civic engagement from all of New York’s communities.”
“Voter registration is essential to ensuring a broad and inclusive electorate,” said Javier Valdes, Co-Executive Director of Make the Road New York. “The City should do absolutely everything it can to ensure that all eligible New Yorkers have the opportunity to participate in our democracy.”
The Pro-Voter Law requires 18 city agencies and, under certain circumstances, their associated subcontractors, to provide voter registration forms to all persons submitting applications, renewals, or recertification for agency services, or notifying the agency of a change of address. The law included each of the City’s 59 community boards as well.
In its report, the Pro-Voter Law Coalition made 12 recommendations including the following:
Establish comprehensive protocols by December 31, 2014 to ensure that all agencies provide voter registration applications to clients when they apply for services, renewal or recertification for services and change of address relating to such services and promptly transmit all completed voter registration applications to the NYC Board of Elections;
Require agencies to use coded voter registration forms specific to each agency. Solicit quarterly reports by the Board of Elections on the numbers of forms submitted by city agencies (a model protocol is proposed in City Council Intro 356 of 2014); and
Mandate that agency staff provide the same level of assistance in completing voter registration forms as is given to other agency transactions. This should include verbal assistance.
Members of the Pro-Voter Coalition are available for interviews with the media.
The Center for Popular Democracy promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial and economic justice agenda. Visit www.populardemocracy.org and www.twitter.com/popdemoc.
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that seeks to improve our systems of democracy and justice. The Center’s work ranges from voting rights to campaign finance reform, from racial justice in criminal law to Constitutional protection in the fight against terrorism.
Citizens Union is a nonpartisan good government group dedicated to making democracy work for all New Yorkers. Citizens Union serves as a civic watchdog, combating corruption and fighting for political reform. We work to ensure fair and open elections, honest and efficient government, and a civically‐engaged public. Principled and pragmatic, Citizens Union is an independent force for constructive reform, driving policy and educating the public to achieve accountable government in the City and State of New York.
The New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) is New York State's largest student-directed research and advocacy organization. NYPIRG is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit whose principal areas of concern are environmental protection, consumer rights, higher education, government reform, voter registration, mass transit and public health.
The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), founded in 1974, is a national organization that protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans. By combining litigation, advocacy, education, and organizing, AALDEF works with Asian American communities across the country to secure human rights for all.
Why can't we get a vote on the one thing the parties agree on?
When the two parties adopted their platforms this summer, observers noted that the Democratic platform was possibly the most progressive platform in the recent history, while the Republican...
When the two parties adopted their platforms this summer, observers noted that the Democratic platform was possibly the most progressive platform in the recent history, while the Republican platform lurched even further to the right on a number of issues.
But on one topic (you'll be surprised which), they actually agreed: Breaking up too big to fail banks. Both parties' platforms include calls to re-instate the Glass Steagall firewall between boring banking (you know, lending money to people and businesses) and risky casino-style investment banking (think "credit default swaps").
Election day is fast approaching and Congress's approval rating has barely improved from a few years back when it lagged behind root canals. So you'd think agreement on a major policy -- particularly one with broad and deep public support -- might be occasion for swift enactment of a bi-partisan bill. Indeed, the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act is championed by both Elizabeth Warren and John McCain, popular leaders in their respective parties. Instead, with Congress set to adjourn this week until after election day, Congressional leaders have yet to take a single step to live up to the words of their platforms.
Organizers of a new campaign to Take on Wall Street decided to do something about it. With strong support from the Daily Kos community and working with allies from labor, netroots, and community partners, we launched a petition to Congressional leaders asking them to back up their rhetoric on Glass Steagall with action. The petitions were gathered by the AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, American Family Voices, Americans For Financial Reform, Campaign for America's Future, Center for Popular Democracy Action, Courage Campaign, CREDO, Daily Kos, EPI Policy Center, Franciscan Action Network, Jobs with Justice, Just Foreign Policy, People for the American Way, Presente.org, Progressive Congress Action Fund, the Nation, and Rootstrikers, generating over 350,000 signatures.
Yesterday we delivered those petitions on Capitol Hill, bringing them directly to the office of Republican Jeb Hensarling, Chair of the House Financial Services Committee. As Chair of the Committee that oversees the banks, Hensarling has had ample opportunity to show leadership on the issue. Instead he has spent the past two months advancing legislation that weakens oversight of the financial industry rather than strengthening it. Last week Chairman Hensarling held a vote in his committee on the highly partisan CHOICE Act -- an early Christmas present to Wall Street benefactors that repeals many of the regulations established by the Dodd Frank Financial Reform legislation enacted following the financial collapse in 2008. The prior week Hensarling pushed through a vote on the House floor that reduces transparency and disclosure rules for private equity firms.
Representative Hensarling was not in his office when we arrived but in addition to the petitions we delivered, we also brought to his office a reminder of the Republican Party's platform regarding Glass Steagall -- language that is remarkably clear and explicit: "We support re-instating the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 which prohibits commercial banks from engaging in high-risk investment."
To be fair, not all Democrats support reinstating Glass-Steagall either. But Republicans have adopted a party platform that includes "tough on banks" references to Glass-Steagall while actively moving a Wall Street wish list of deregulation. That hypocrisy is egregious even by Washington standards.
Representative Hensarling isn't likely to change his tune, and as political observers delight in reminding us, the party platforms are not binding. But we should use even the rhetorical support for our agenda to hold elected officials accountable. And in the mean time, judge them by their actions not their words.
By jgreen612
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Arizona’s special election could send an important message for the midterms — even if the GOP wins
Arizona’s special election could send an important message for the midterms — even if the GOP wins
Ady Barkan, the man with ALS who became nationally famous for confronting Sen. Jeff Flake over his support for the Republican tax bill has thrown his support behind Tipirneni, creating a viral web...
Ady Barkan, the man with ALS who became nationally famous for confronting Sen. Jeff Flake over his support for the Republican tax bill has thrown his support behind Tipirneni, creating a viral web ad for her campaign.
Read the full article here.
Workers Rising - The Report
Workers Rising: Organizing Service Jobs for Shared Prosperity in New York City
Something unique has happened in New York: a wave of low-wage worker activity. As is clear...
Something unique has happened in New York: a wave of low-wage worker activity. As is clear from this report, New York City is at a critical turning point: will the City be one where all working families can find stable, living-wage employment? Or will the entrenched inequality of the City worsen still further? This report captures the inspiring stories of low-wage workers who have put these issues in the spotlight, organizing for improved conditions in industries ranging from car wash to fast food to retail and beyond.
It is our hope that this report will help elevate the issues raised by these workers as New York prepares to elect a new City Council, a new Mayor, a new Public Advocate, and a new Comptroller to take office in 2014.
Download the report here
Executive SummaryAlthough New York’s economy has begun to recover from the Great Recession, working New Yorkers continue to face serious challenges.
Despite the significant rise in workers’ productivity over the past forty years, their wages have remained stagnant while those at the top of the economic pyramid have reaped nearly all of the benefits of our growing economy. When the recession hit in 2007, it exacerbated an already dire situation for working class and impoverished New Yorkers.
The City’s unemployment rate nearly doubled, from 5.3 percent in 2007 to 9.7 percent today. Real median income in the City fell nearly 8 percent, from $35,000 in 2008 to $32,200 in 2011. The percentage of New Yorkers who are poor rose from 18 percent to a staggering 21 percent. And twice as many people now are homeless in the City as were in 1992. Most striking of all, this widespread economic misery takes place amid unheralded wealth: according to formal measures,
Manhattan’s inequality is higher than all but one other county in the nation and approximately equivalent to that of Bolivia.
As troubling, the growing sectors of the New York City economy, such as the growing service sector, feature low-wage, no-benefit jobs, with little hope for upward mobility.
This is a familiar narrative. But the next act is inspiring and a cause for hope: 2012 was a year of unprecedented activity by low-wage workers in the service industry, including strikes, rallies, marches, and union organizing. New York’s service workers are rising and fighting back – as their predecessors did in the 1930s – against poor working conditions and poverty-level wages. Despite the real risk that speaking out may cost them their jobs, thousands of workers in New York City’s lowest wage industries are joining together to demand dignity on the job.
At car washes from Elmhurst to So-Ho and Jamaica to Mott Haven, immigrant car washers have voted to unionize. At fast food restaurants from Times Square to Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn, protesting workers have made national news by taking on and striking some of the biggest employers in America. At flagship Fifth Avenue retail stores, cashiers are calling for an end to the part-time poverty that plagues the industry. And at JFK Airport, the men and women who keep millions of travelers safe have united to demand better training, higher pay, and health insurance so their families can be healthy and safe as well. These workers’ bold actions, sparked, we believe, by the energy and anger and hope of the Occupy movement, have amplified the call for change – and broadened it to make clear that this is a fight for all New Yorkers.
In this report, we take a closer look at the growing worker movements that are throwing a spotlight on abuse on the job and at the need to build an economy typified by stable, living-wage, dignified jobs. We also highlight critical policy changes that elected officials could implement that would address the plight of low-wage workers in the City, helping to turn low-wage, dead-end jobs into stable middle class employment opportunities. Raising the minimum wage is perhaps the most important reform that legislators can enact this year to improve standards of living for working-class New Yorkers. That power—and that duty—lies with the New York State Legislature. Raising the minimum wage would result in higher pay for more than one million New York workers. Indexing the minimum wage to inflation will raise consumer spending, help strengthen the economy, and create thousands of new jobs. Although a good first step, the reforms currently under consideration are insufficient. An increase in the minimum wage to $10 per hour would give full-time workers a salary of $20,000 per year and help to reduce poverty in New York City. At the very least, the Legislature should expand New York
City’s home rule power so that it can create a City minimum wage that reflects the higher cost of living here, as compared to upstate.
The New York City Council also has the power to reshape our economy in meaningful ways. Improving the jobs and lives of low-wage workers is not only an issue of justice, but also an issue of good economics. If low-wage jobs were to be transformed into middle class jobs, workers’ higher wages would allow them to spend more on local goods and services, giving a boost to the economy that our city’s neighborhoods could desperately use.
In 2013, New York City voters will elect a new mayor and fill every seat on the New York City Council. Over the coming four years, these elected officials will make critical decisions impacting the lives of millions of people. But our future is not in their hands. It is the politicians’ future that is in ours. Will our next mayor continue programs that deliver tax breaks and subsidies to large corporations that do not deliver on promised job creation? Will our next City Council finally pass key reforms – such as legislation to provide paid sick leave to the City’s workforce – that can improve the lives of low-wage workers and their children? Will New Yorkers and our elected officials build a City in which all working families can thrive? In large part, the answers will depend on the choices that elected officials and voters make over the coming year.
These are four sets of actions that the New York City government could take to improve life for low-wage workers:
First, the City should raise standards for low wage work by passing legislation to guarantee at least five days of paid sick leave for workers – such as the Earned Sick Leave Act – and to protect workers from erratic and unpredictable scheduling that keeps them in poverty – such as the Predictable Scheduling Act. Second, New York should regulate high-violation industries where wages are low and labor abuses are rampant by passing laws like the Car Wash Accountability Act and establishing an enhanced privilege permitting system at Port Authority airports. Such policies should impose new licensing or permitting requirements, tighten environmental and safety standards, and implement other tailored policies that increase oversight of the lowest-wage, highest-violation industries. Third, in order to ensure that these new rights make a meaningful difference in workers’ lives, the City should establish a Mayor’s Office of Labor Standards to educate employers about their obligations, investigate complaints by workers that employers are violating the law, and bring enforcement actions in particularly egregious cases. Fourth, New York City should pass a resolution urging the State to modify the City’s home rule authority so that the City can set a minimum wage that is higher than the state minimum, reflecting the high cost of living here.Minimum standards in the workplace have always been resisted by much of the business community. One hundred years ago, opponents said that prohibitions on child labor and basic workplace safety laws would harm consumers. In the 1930s, they said that minimum wage and hour laws would cost jobs. And throughout the civil rights era, they said that anti-discrimination laws would destroy free enterprise and the autonomy of business owners. But today these laws are indelible and uncontroversial features of our economy. The same can be true of paid sick leave, predictable and fair scheduling, and a living wage for everybody. When standards are raised and all businesses are required to take a higher road, New Yorkers will enjoy more broadly shared prosperity and a more just society.
We sit at a pivotal moment in New York City’s history. And as low-wage workers across the City have made clear with their growing movement for change, we must take this unique opportunity to build a City that provides opportunity and economic security for all New Yorkers.
Rivera and Camara Push 'Ambitious' Bill for Noncitizen Voting
Capital NY - June 16, 2014, By Nidhi Prakash - With just four remaining days in the state legislative session, sponsors of a new bill to grant citizenship rights to undocumented immigrants said...
Capital NY - June 16, 2014, By Nidhi Prakash - With just four remaining days in the state legislative session, sponsors of a new bill to grant citizenship rights to undocumented immigrants said they hope to begin building momentum for next session.
“First of all, this is obviously not something that is going to pass by the end of this week," said State Senator Gustavo Rivera, at a press conference in Battery Park City. "This was never about this particular legislative session. We’ve been working on it for almost two years, it’s a bold idea and we wanted to make sure it was thought out."
The bill, titled the New York is Home Act, would make it legal for undocumented immigrants in New York State to vote in local and state elections, get professional and drivers' licenses, and make them eligible for state-funded Medicaid and financial aid for higher education.
“What we’re doing today is we’re starting a conversation not only in New York, but hopefully across the country,” said Rivera, who was joined at the press conference by representatives from the Center for Popular Democracy and Make the Road New York.
Senator Rivera said he was choosing this moment to introduce the bill, despite nearing the end of the legislative session, partly because of a lack of movement in Washington on immigration reform. He pointed to the defeat last week of Republican House majority leader Eric Cantor by a Tea Party candidate who criticized Cantor's support for limited immigration reform.
But some progressives have also balked at provisions in the proposed bill. Mayor Bill de Blasio has called for municipal ID cards for undocumented immigrants, but said last year he's "not comfortable" with the idea of noncitizen voting.
“We are certainly asking for everyone in the Senate and the Assembly as well as in other sectors—the mayor and the governor—to support it, and we will have conversations with them going forward," Rivera said. "We are just starting the conversation."
Assembly Member Karim Camara, the bill’s sponsor in the Assembly, said the broad scope of the bill could help other stalled measures, like the Dream Act and a bill to allow undocumented immigrants access to drivers' licenses.
“We’re hoping that by looking at this big picture, and this is probably one of the most ambitious efforts over at least the last decade or two, maybe those smaller pieces now seem like they’re not that big of a deal,” said Camara.
Camara said he hoped the bill would create momentum for other immigration reform initiatives by the start of the next legislative session.
“We didn’t break it into priorities in this bill, but we’re hoping that by looking at this overarching bill it’ll perhaps make those other smaller bills easier—drivers' license, Dream Act, et cetera,” he said.
Camara blamed the balance of power in the Senate for those bills being unsuccessful in the past, and said if that was to change there may be more hope for immigration reform on a state level.
“The Republican-led Senate has been a main challenge," he said. "We would have passed it this year if it was not for that. So of course there is that elephant in the room, that political dynamic that we can’t avoid, and if that’s not the case then we’ll appeal to individuals’ reason."
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Protesters rip Chase for funding private prisons, immig jails
Protesters rip Chase for funding private prisons, immig jails
Over 100 protesters weathered a sudden downpour as they gathered outside JPMorgan Chase headquarters in Midtown Manhattan Wednesday to challenge the bank's investment and funding of private...
Over 100 protesters weathered a sudden downpour as they gathered outside JPMorgan Chase headquarters in Midtown Manhattan Wednesday to challenge the bank's investment and funding of private prisons and for-profit immigrant detention centers.
The protesters laid out pairs of shoes in front of the bank's main office on Fifth Ave. before the rally began.
Read the full article here.
13 Retailers Questioned By N.Y. Attorney General About Worker Scheduling
LA Times - April 13, 2015, by Samantha Masunaga - he scheduling practices of 13 retailers, including Gap Inc., Target Corp. and Abercrombie & Fitch Co., are being scrutinized by New York Atty...
LA Times - April 13, 2015, by Samantha Masunaga - he scheduling practices of 13 retailers, including Gap Inc., Target Corp. and Abercrombie & Fitch Co., are being scrutinized by New York Atty. Gen. Eric T. Schneiderman.
In a letter sent to the retailers, the attorney general's office said it had received reports that a growing number of employers, particularly in the retail industry, were requiring hourly employees to work on-call shifts. The office said it had “reason to believe” the 13 retailers might be using this kind of scheduling.
A New York state law requires that employees who are asked to come into work must be paid for at least four hours atminimum wage or the number of hours in the regularly scheduled shift, whichever is less, even if the employee is sent home.
California has a similar law that says employees must be paid for half of their usual time — two to four hours — if they are required to come in to work but are not needed or work less than their normal schedule.
The letter was also sent to J. Crew Group Inc.; L Brands, which owns Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works; Burlington Stores Inc.; TJX Cos.; Urban Outfitters Inc.; Sears Holdings Corp.; Williams-Sonoma Inc.; Crocs Inc.; Ann Inc., which owns Ann Taylor; and J.C. Penney Co.
The letters ask the retailers for more information about how they schedule employees for work, including whether they use on-call shifts and computerized scheduling programs.
Rachel Deutsch, an attorney at the Center for Popular Democracy, a New York worker advocacy group, said on-call scheduling can make it difficult for workers to arrange child care or pick up a second job.
“These are folks that want to work,” she said. “They’re ready and willing to work, and some weeks they might get no pay at all even though they set aside 100% of their time to work.”
Danielle Lang, a Skadden fellow at Bet Tzedek Legal Services in Los Angeles, said the attorney general’s action could have repercussions in other states.
“The New York attorney general is a powerful force,” she said. “It’s certainly an issue that’s facing so many of our low-wage workers in California, and anything that puts a highlight on this practice and really pressures employers to think about these practices is a good thing.”
Sears, Target and Ann Inc. said in separate statements that they do not have on-call shifts for their workers. J.C. Penney said it has a policy against on-call scheduling.
TJX spokeswoman Doreen Thompson said in a statement that company management teams “work to develop schedules that serve the needs of both our associates and our company.”
Gap said in a statement that the company has been working on a project with the Center for WorkLife Law at UC Hastings College of the Law to examine workplace scheduling and productivity and will see the first set of data results in the fall.
“Gap Inc. is committed to establishing sustainable scheduling practices that will improve stability for our employees, while helping toeffectively manage our business,” spokeswoman Laura Wilkinson said.
The remaining companies did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
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So-Called 'Common Sense' Immigration Plan Denounced as 'Mass Deportation Bill'
So-Called 'Common Sense' Immigration Plan Denounced as 'Mass Deportation Bill'
Following news on Wednesday that a bipartisan group of senators known as the "Common Sense Caucus" reached a deal on an immigration measure that would grant President Donald Trump's demands for...
Following news on Wednesday that a bipartisan group of senators known as the "Common Sense Caucus" reached a deal on an immigration measure that would grant President Donald Trump's demands for border wall funding and cuts to family reunification programs, immigrant rights groups denounced the proposed plan as a "mass deportation bill" and implored Democrats to vote against it.
Read the full article here.
Bar bank executives from regional Fed boards, says Yellen's ex-advisor
Bar bank executives from regional Fed boards, says Yellen's ex-advisor
A former top Federal Reserve policy advisor said on Monday that bank executives should be barred from serving on the boards of the Fed's 12 regional outposts, Fed policymakers should serve just...
A former top Federal Reserve policy advisor said on Monday that bank executives should be barred from serving on the boards of the Fed's 12 regional outposts, Fed policymakers should serve just seven years, and monetary policy should be subject to an official annual review.
The proposals from Dartmouth College Professor Andrew Levin represent substantial change for the Federal Reserve.
Banks currently appoint six of the nine members of regional Fed bank boards, policymakers often serve a decade or more before retiring, and the details of monetary policymaking have always been a closely guarded secret, with transcripts of meetings released only after a five-year interval.
Levin, who advised Fed Chair Janet Yellen when she was Fed vice chair, released the proposals via the Fed Up Coalition, a network of community organizations and labor unions calling for change to the U.S. central bank. It is unclear how they will be received by other Fed critics who have called for even more sweeping changes, or the 101-year-old institution itself, which has largely resisted reform proposals.
The Fed has come under increasing fire in recent months from both Democrats and Republicans for what they say is a lack of accountability and transparency, with lawmakers and presidential candidates calling for a wide range of limits on the Fed's powers.
In response, some current and former Fed officials have begun to call for steps to placate the U.S. central bank's harshest critics.
Levin on Monday also called for the process of appointing Fed bank presidents to be more transparent and to involve the public. Currently Fed bank presidents are chosen in a closed-door process run by each bank's board and approved by the Washington-based Fed Board.
Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli
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