Civil Rights & Employment

The Civil Rights and Employment practice group protects the rights of persons who have been victims of violations of the civil rights and workplace laws. Members of the practice group and other lawyers at the firm who work in this area bring more than 50 years of experience in representing victims of discrimination. Lawyers in the practice group have served as lead counsel or co-lead counsel in more than 35 civil rights and employment class actions. We have represented victims of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, national origin, disability, religion and age before the EEOC and state enforcement agencies as well as in federal and state courts around the country, including the United States Supreme Court. We have tried several class action discrimination cases to juries in federal courts and argued appeals in many of the federal courts of appeal in the country.

This firm has been a pioneer in the field of civil rights. It successfully litigated one of the first sexual harassment cases under federal law in Willaims v. Saxbe and currently represents more than 1.5 million women in a class action against Wal-Mart Stores, known as Dukes, et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores, which is the largest civil rights class action in United States history. The firm was also co-lead counsel in a landmark race discrimination class action against Texaco, Roberts, et al. v. Texaco, Inc., which led to a settlement valued at $176 Million and fundamental reforms to the company’s promotion policies. Similarly, the firm served as counsel for a class of African American employees who challenged racial discrimination in promotions at the FDIC, in a case titled Conanan, et al. v. Tanoe, which was resolved by the largest monetary settlement of racial discrimination employment claims against the federal government. The firm also serves as co-lead counsel in another case of great importance, Keepseagle, et al. v. Veneman, brought on behalf of a class of 1000s of Native American farmers and ranchers who have been denied equal opportunities to obtain credit from the USDA and previously represented Native Americans in claims of employment discrimination in Weahkee, et al. v. Thomas. Members of the practice group have also brought class actions challenging the denial of access by minorities to places of public accommodation.

The firm also represents workers who have been denied overtime and other forms of compensation in violation of the wage and hour laws. These violations, which can occur when employees’ jobs are mis-classified or perform work for which they are not compensated, are rampant in many workplaces today. The firm served as co-lead counsel in a large wage and hour case, known as Trotter, et al. v. Perdue Farms, brought on behalf of chicken processing workers who were denied payment for time spent putting on, taking off and cleaning safety and protective equipment. The firm is also co-lead counsel in a wage and hour class action against GEICO where the plaintiffs have proved that auto damage inspectors were mis-classified as exempt from overtime eligibility.

For more information, please contact us at lawinfo@cohenmilstein.com.