READ OUR USA TODAY OP-ED:
CORPORATIONS ARE ABUSING PEOPLE. HERE’S HOW TO BETTER PROTECT WORKERS AND CONSUMERS
This article was originally published on August 23, 2019 via USA Today.
BY JILL HABIG & REP. KATIE PORTER (CA-45) -- Nobody likes to get cheated. Not seniors and not students; not professionals and not hourly workers; not Republicans and not Democrats. In fact, there are few things as universal as the sense of injustice when one side breaks the rules — and gets away with it. Yet prosecutors infrequently punish corporations that behave badly. Is this because corporate abuse is rare or because the law is inadequate?
New research commissioned by Public Rights Project sounds the alarm that corporate abuse is widespread. Even with our years of experience as consumer and family advocates, we were surprised to see how many survey respondents — 54% — said they had been victims of corporate abuse in the past decade. Citing offenses from predatory lending and debt collection to wage theft and refusal to repair unsafe housing, more than half of Americans surveyed said they were harmed by corporate misconduct.
The research shows that despite many laws on the books to protect them, many Americans still are being taken advantage of by businesses flouting the law to steal wages, fail to provide safe housing or prey upon them with abusive lending practices.
Learn more from our full report here or download our snapshot here.
WE WON:
NINTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS UPHOLDS SANTA MONICA’S EFFORTS TO COMBAT HOUSING AFFORDABILITY CRISIS
We were proud to submit amicus briefs supporting Santa Monica's short-term housing regulation, along with our partners:
Baltimore City Solicitor’s Office
Cook County (Chicago) State’s Attorney’s Office
Columbus City Attorney
City of Dayton Department of Law
District of Columbia Attorney General’s Office
City of Gary (Indiana) Law Department
Sacramento City Attorney’s Office
San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera
Santa Cruz City Attorney’s Office
Seattle City Attorney’s Office
Somerville (Massachusetts) Law Department
(C) Lisa Vortman Photography
"This decision is a win not just for Santa Monica, but for cities and localities across the country attempting to combat the affordable housing crisis and to make policy decisions that benefit their communities in the age of the internet."
JILL HABIG, FOUNDER & PRESIDENT
Our Founder & President, Jill Habig, wrote more about this case here.
NEARLY 100 CITIES JOIN PRP TO FIGHT FOR LGBTQ RIGHTS IN THE SUPREME COURT
Public Rights Project, in partnership with Freedom for All Americans, brought together a coalition of almost 100 local governments & mayors in support of LGBTQ workers to argue that Title VII prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and sex stereotyping. From Los Angeles, CA to Fayetteville, AR, local governments see firsthand the ripple effects of employment discrimination, and we’re proud to stand with them.
CASE HIGHLIGHT: IMMIGRANTS' RIGHTS
PRP 2018 Fellow David Ureña is part of a team of lawyers at the Office of Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey challenging the Trump administration’s public charge rule.
PRP 2018 Fellow Callie Wilson has helped lead the Oakland City Attorney’s Office’s advocacy on immigration rights, including filing public comments and amicus briefs with a coalition of cities against the public charge rule.
BAY AREA REGIONAL ENFORCEMENT COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS
SF, Santa Clara County Sue Trump Administration Over 'Public Charge' Immigration Policy
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WHAT WE'RE READING THIS MONTH...
Our friend Terri Gerstein of Harvard Labor and Worklife Program wrote an important piece on how giant corporations are fighting paid sick leave policies.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...
PRP Founder and President, Jill Habig joined PRP Board Member and Incite.org & Arena Co-Founder, Swati Mylavarapu, for a conversation on the importance of creating a pipeline of young leaders into public service to build a more just and equitable future for all.
States Sue Trump Administration Over Rollback Of Obama-Era Climate Rule via The New York Times
The lawsuit is the latest salvo in a long-running battle over the future of coal and how to regulate the nation’s heavily polluting power plants, which are major producers of greenhouse gases that warm the planet. It also is the most significant test to date of the Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate or weaken former President Obama’s regulations to reduce the United States’ contribution to global warming.
School District In Marin County Agrees To Desegregate In Settlement With State via The San Francisco Chronicle
A tiny Marin County school district “intentionally” segregated its students, corralling black and Latino children in an under-performing public school for years, and must now develop a plan to quickly reintegrate its classrooms, according to settlement terms in a racial discrimination case announced Friday by the state attorney general’s office.
States Vow Suit Over Endangered Species Rollback via Associated Press
California and Massachusetts say they’ll go to court to fight the Trump administration’s overhaul of the Endangered Species Act...Both Democratic state prosecutors pointed to a United Nations report earlier this year warning that more than 1 million species globally are in danger of extinction.
