LAWYERS’ COMMITTEE DEVELOPMENTS  

 

NOTICE OF COLLECTIVE ACTION

 

A collective action lawsuit has been filed against S.C.C.P. Painting Contractors in Maryland federal court for unpaid wages and unpaid overtime wages.  If you worked for S.C.C.P. Painting Contractors at any time since February 26, 2005 up to the present, you might have a right to join this lawsuit and recover unpaid wages and damages. 

 

If you worked for S.C.C.P. Painting Contractors and believe you may be owed unpaid wages or overtime pay or if you have any questions regarding the lawsuit, please contact the Plaintiffs' attorney, Director of the Immigrants’ Rights Project, Laura E. Varela, at 202-319-1000 no later than May 23, 2008.    

 

NOTICIA DE DEMANDA COLECTIVA

 

Una demanda colectiva se ha presentado contra S.C.C.P. Painting Contractors en la Corte Federal de Maryland por salarios y horas extras no pagadas.  Si usted trabajó por S.C.C.P. Painting Contractors por cualquier tiempo desde el 26 de febrero de 2004 hasta el presente, usted tal vez tenga el derecho de ser parte de esta demanda y pueda recuperar salarios no pagados y danos.  Si usted trabajó por S.C.C.P. Painting Contractors y piensa que tal vez se le debe un salario y horas extras o si tiene preguntas sobre la demanda, por favor contacte la abogada de los Demandantes y Directora del Proyecto de Los Derechos de Inmigrantes, Laura E. Varela en el 202-319-1000 antes del 23 de Mayo de 2008.

 

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WASHINGTON LAWYERS’ COMMITTEE REPORT: 

DETERIORATING ATHLETIC FACILITIES AT D.C. PUBLIC SCHOOLS

 

February 8, 2008 – The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs today issued a report detailing the deplorable condition of athletic programming and facilities in the D.C. Public School system.  The report – Unlevel Playing Fields IV – is the fourth in a series of reports that expose the District’s historic unwillingness to invest adequately in school athletic programming.  The Report describes the many ways that these serious problems have worked to undermine the overall quality of education available in the District.

“It is a oft-repeated myth that the District has, over the years, poured ever more resources into the city’s public schools without any appreciable gains.  In fact, over the last fifteen years, the District has devoted even less money to many critical school programs, most notably athletic programs and facilities.  In light of this historic lack of commitment, the abysmal state of the District’s athletic programs is unsurprising.” said Ronald Flagg, a litigation partner at Sidley Austin LLP who has long worked to improve the District’s public schools.

 

This 2008 Report substantiates the lack of funds committed to DCPS athletes, an amount that has been reduced by more than half since 1993.  It highlights Cardozo High School, which was singled out in the original 2001 Report for its failures.  The current Report paints an even more deteriorated picture at Cardozo.

 

“Far too few of our young people are finishing school and going to college,” commented Mary Levy, the Committee’s Education Project Director, “Offering students quality, organized, school-sponsored athletics and activities is an important way to enhance their motivation to stay in school.”

 

The Washington Lawyers’ Committee publishes this Report to encourage elected officials to commit the necessary resources to achieve positive, sustainable reforms. Executive Director Rod Boggs added that, “Notwithstanding the enormous challenges we face going forward, the Report celebrates the significant commitment of funds made under the administration of D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty.” 

 

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DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION SUIT FILED AGAINST
MD BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS & DEPT. OF WATER QUALITY

 

January 23, 2008 – The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson LLP today announced the filing of a disability discrimination lawsuit on behalf of Anthony Davis, a disabled long-time Washington County employee, whose termination is alleged to violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

 

In a complaint filed in federal district court against the Washington County’s Board of Commissioners and Department of Water Quality, it is alleged that, without reason, the Department of Water Quality refused to permit Mr. Davis to take a state certification examination with extra time in order to complete the exam.  Mr. Davis suffers from significant neurocognitive and vision impairments from a previous on-the-job injury. 

 

The County denied Mr. Davis this accommodation even after the Maryland State Board of Waterworks and Waste System Operators (“State Board”) concluded that he was entitled to the accommodation.  Rather than permitting Mr. Davis to re-take the exam with the State Board-recognized accommodation, the County Board terminated his employment. The complaint alleges that the failure to provide a reasonable accommodation and Mr. Davis’ subsequent termination violated the ADA. 

 

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D.C. PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMPETE IN THRILLING GEOPLUNGE TOURNAMENT

Thursday, November 29, 2007 – Nearly 200 5th and 6th grade students from 46 D.C. Public Schools competed in the 3rd Annual GeoPlunge Challenge ournament. GeoPlunge is an award-winning game created by Arent Fox attorney Alan Fishel to encourage students to learn about U.S. geography. Kendall Evans, whose J.O. Wilson Elementary School team won first place, declared, “The Tournament was outstanding! The children seemed to have learned so much by playing this game. We look forward to participating every year!”

 

The Washington Lawyers’ Committee’s D.C. Public School Partnerships Project worked with Arent Fox LLP and the Office of the D.C. Publich Schools Chancellor to organize the tournament, with attorneys and staff from the firm and the D.C. public schools handling logistics and judging. Dozens of D.C. area law firms and individuals sponsored the teams that participated.

 

The tournament was an exciting, competitive, team-building, and motivational learning experience for student participants. Like the NCAA basketball tournament, each school competed against a number of other schools, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen, the Elite Eight, the Final Four, and ultimately to the Championship round. Chancellor Michelle Rhee expressed her appreciation for the GeoPlunge Tournament, recognizing that it generated “excitement around learning that is critical for our kids to thrive.” 

 

The winning J.O Wilson team received the first-place trophy and tickets to a Washington Wizards basketball game. The Payne Elementary School team placed 2nd, the Randle Highlands Elementary School team finished 3rd, and the team from Eaton Elementary School took home 4th place. The winning team of the comeback round—our NIT equivalent—was Takoma Elementary School.

 

Students responded enthusiastically to the tournament: “It was fun and also challenging to play with other schools,” “It’s great to test your geography skills,” “I liked the sportsmanship and the teamwork,” and “It is a great game and I look forward to playing it again.”

 

When asked what they liked best about GeoPlunge, students answered: “It is fun and a great learning experience,” “This is an easier way to learn geography,” “It's a great game for learning. It's the greatest game ever!!!”

 

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HISPANIC RESIDENTS ALLEGE DISCRIMINATION BY CITY OF MANASSAS, VA

 

October 16, 2007 – The Equal Rights Center, represented by the Washington Lawyer's Committee, filed suit in the Eastern District of Virginia against the City of Manassas and its school system for engaging in a systematic effort to target and discriminate against the City’s Hispanic residents. Alleging that the City has violated the U.S. Constitution, the Federal Fair Housing Act and federal and state civil rights laws, the City’s selective enforcement of zoning laws is believed to target Hispanic residents, and also entails illegal harassment, intimidation and coercion based on their national origin and familial status.

 

The suit takes aim at various City practices, including a 2004 City program, the Residential Overcrowding Code Enforcement Program, which purportedly was aimed at “overcrowding” but was in fact intended to reduce the Hispanic population in Manassas. Compliance practices under the program, the suit alleges, also targeted Hispanic homes.

 

Then, in 2005, the Manassas City Council amended its zoning ordinance to be even more restrictive by changing the definition of “family” to a definition that basically banned extended families living together.

 

Rabbi Bruce E. Kahn, Executive Director of the Equal Rights Center stated, “I am shocked, appalled and embarrassed by the violations of the law promulgated by those very individuals whom citizen turn to for protection of the civil rights.”  As echoed by Isabelle Thabault, Director of the Committee’s Fair Housing Project, “Unfortunately, city officials seem to have forgotten that our country has always been a land of immigrants.”

 

Additional claims also were filed against the Manassas City Public Schools for their alleged disclosure of confidential records of Hispanic school children to city inspectors.

 

 

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DC PRISONERS FILE FIRST-EVER CLASS ACTION OVER ALLEGED INHUMAN MEDICAL TREATMENT

 

June 18, 2007 – The DC Prisoners’ Project of the Washington Lawyer's Committee and the law firm of Covington & Burling filed a class action lawsuit today in Federal District Court against the Geo Group, the world’s second largest private prison corporation, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons for providing dangerously inadequate medical care at Geo’s Rivers Correctional Facility in Winston, North Carolina.  It is the first lawsuit of its kind ever filed in the U.S.

The suit was filed on behalf of all current, previous and future prisoners held at Rivers, a private prison opened in 2001 primarily to house D.C. prisoners after the local Lorton Prison Complex closed in the same year. Compared with other facilities, the average age of prisoners at Rivers is older, with more complex medical needs. The suit details massive deficiencies and deprivations in medical care for this population, the result of aggressive cost containment measures adopted by Geo, coupled with a complete failure of federal oversight of the Rivers facility. The suit seeks improvements in medical care so as to meet basic requirements under the U.S. Constitution and other federal laws.

 

• Geo employs one part-time doctor to provide medical care to 1,362 men at Rivers. 
• Geo staff are required to alter long-established medication regimens for new arrivals, replacing them with cheaper drugs in all cases.  When one plaintiff with a serious mental illness complained to staff that the treatment regimen he received at the D.C. Jail was substituted with cheaper alternatives, he was told:  “This is not the jail.  You’re not in the community.  This is a business.”
• One prisoner’s minor tooth infection was ignored by Rivers medical staff for three months, despite his repeated requests for assistance, until the infection spread and his face became so swollen it literally burst open at a local hospital, leaving the prisoner permanently injured and disfigured.

The complaint details horrific incidents of medical care delayed and denied, of systemic deprivations of basic needs, and outright indifference to medical need.: