Public Rights Project

Attorney General Daniel Cameron had a chance to utilize his power to hold police accountable for Breonna Taylor's death, but failed. Cameron charged only one officer with wanton endangermenta Class D felonyfor shots fired into OTHER apartments. It is up to us to do more. TODAY we released a guide on 'The Power and Potential of State Attorneys General to End Police Brutality.' The guide identifies five concrete ways that AGs can make a difference on police reform and account...ability. State AGs can: 1) hold officers accountable for violating the law 2) investigate & sue police departments for systemic misconduct 3) issue advisory opinions on police practices 4) call for decriminalization of minor offenses 5) promote reform in the work of their offices Activists spent the summer protesting police brutality against Black communities. They called upon government officials to hold police officers accountable, reform police departments, and transform policing. In light of the lack of fair practices and justice, we continue to demand that State AGs use their power and take action. Read the guide here: https://bit.ly/3kMmWAM & share your thoughts with us in the comments!

We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve started the search for a COO! We’re looking for someone to join our team to help ensure that we grow from startup to mature organization in alignment with our vision: protecting people's rights. Learn more and apply here: https://bit.ly/PRPCOO

Last week, we collaborated with the City of #Chicago in filing a local government amicus brief in defense of the #Massachusetts eviction moratorium. Two landlords sued to stop the moratorium. The amicus brief defended the decision of the Massachusetts Legislature to impose a temporary moratorium on all nonpayment evictions in the state. While landlords remain able to collect rent that is owed, tenants are protected from displacement due to an inability to pay the rent. The ev...iction moratorium in Massachusetts is one of dozens across the country put in place to protect the nearly 28 million households at high risk of displacement by eviction due to COVID-19 and the economic downturn. Read the full brief on our website here https://bit.ly/Massachusettsevictionmoratorium and check out this piece in the Boston Globe: https://www.bostonglobe.com//mass-eviction-ban-heads-cour/. #tenantsrights #housing #evictions #covid19 See more

Now is the time to hold corporations accountable and address the unchecked power of monopolies. We’re proud to support these researchers, organizers, and campaigns as part of the Economic Security Project Anti-Monopoly Fund. Read more on Bloomberg: https://tinyurl.com/y64u6x2x. You can also read more about the other grantees on Medium: https://tinyurl.com/y428euqs. #workersrights #consumerrights #bigtech

Public Rights Project, joined by People's Parity Project, One Fair Wage, and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, recently wrote and filed an amicus brief in support of the case brought by California Attorney General, City of San Francisco, City of Los Angeles, and City of San Diego against #Uber and #Lyft for misclassifying its drivers. The brief focuses on how the companies made their drivers vulnerable to harassment and assault through misclassification and how they take advantage of their drivers through predatory arrangements and by saddling drivers with hidden costs. Read the full brief here: https://tinyurl.com/yxz75wpp #workersrights

Prosecutors have a responsibility to tackle the criminal legal system’s historical and ever present targeting of Black people and communities. Motion for Justice, a new initiative from the Vera Institute of Justice and the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution at John Jay College, is working with prosecutors to implement policies that reduce racial disparities and address the harms of racial injustice in the criminal legal system. Learn more: motionforjustice.org.

Say hello to our second cohort of Affirmative Leaders Fellows! We've selected an extremely talented and diverse cohort of fellows from over 30 state and local government offices in 15 states, the District of Columbia, and the Navajo Nation. We're excited to welcome them into the Public Rights Project family and today we honor them for their continued work to protect the rights of the people in the communities they serve! #publicrights You can read more about the fellows and their journeys here: https://www.publicrightsproject.org/2020-alf-fellows.

Since #COVID19 spread throughout the US, we have heard heart-wrenching stories of those who have lost their jobs or had a significant reduction in income due to stay-at-home orders. Many of these people are facing unlawful evictions. In Santa Monica, a tenant was told if she does not pay rent, she will be kicked out. In Baltimore, a couple was verbally threatened and told to leave by a landlord who has spent months ignoring requests for much-needed repairs. ... In Detroit, a tenant was verbally harassed and demeaned for late payments. Another tenant's landlord threatened to drag him out of the house; the landlord has already shut off his hot water. In New York City, a tenant was physically thrown out of his apartment. We are working to stop this. State and local governments are on the front lines protecting their communitiesdoing everything they can in the battle against #COVID19. Join us in helping them #stopevictions and protect vulnerable tenants by donating this #GivingTuesdayNow: https://tinyurl.com/y9uurj2b #humanrights

During the COVID-19 pandemic, employees are entitled to paid sick leave, worker’s comp for healthcare and lost wages, and unemployment insurance. Today, Public Rights Project, City of Santa Monica Government and the Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker have filed a letter in court stating that Instacart must classify its shoppers as employees and provide paid sick leave. The letter is in support of a lawsuit filed by San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott alleging that Instacar...t violated CA law by improperly classifying its workers as employees. And the evidence shows that paid sick leave and similar policies make all of our communities safer by reducing the spread of illness. Workers providing essential services in a pandemic- like delivering groceries- shouldn’t be worrying about choosing to lose income or coming to work sick. The City of Oakland and Santa Monica both have local laws requiring additional paid sick leave. For more, see our letter at: http://ow.ly/W9NU50yTPwk

Yesterday, PRP Fellow Lauren Miller at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office led a coalition of local governments and PRP in submitting a comment to the Federal Trade Commission on the impact of non-competes on localities. Many employers require workers to sign non-compete agreements that limit their ability to work for a competing business--the purported purpose being to prevent competitors from unfairly gaining access to trade secrets and confidential information. Recen...tly, the use of non-competes has proliferated, even in low-wage industries where trade secrets are not a concern. For example, employers are requiring non-competes signed by temporary Amazon packers, Jimmy John’s sandwich makers, delivery drivers, janitors, and unpaid summer interns. Non-competes often stagnate wages at low rates, limit the opportunity for employees to relocate even after experiencing workplace harassment, and harm the economic dynamism of cities and counties. to Lauren and Cook County for taking the lead on this! And we also applaud the cities of Baltimore, Chicago, New York, Oakland, and Seattle for signing on! Read the entire comment here: https://drive.google.com/open

Come join the team at PRP! The legal team is still seeking talented and public interest orientated summer interns for 2020. The team works with state and local governments to solve the biggest economic, environmental & civil rights barriers to safe, healthy, thriving communities. Our interns get the opportunity to work directly with our Legal Director, President, multiple cities and states across the country, and nonprofit partners. Experience working in government or on plaintiff's side litigation is a plus, but not required. For more info on how to apply, see: http://ow.ly/woP950yG9Ub

Here is how Connie Chan, 2019 Affirmative Leaders Fellow at the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, says the Affirmative Leaders Fellowship inspired her! Want to be part of a bigger connected network of local governments protecting public rights? Apply to be a fellow: http://ow.ly/mTAi50yxMvT

Access to higher education is fundamental. Students attending historically black colleges and predominantly Hispanic colleges shouldn't pay more for students loans than other students. Here at Public Rights Project, we support our partners in enforcing civil rights and ending predatory student lending practices. For more on the story, see: http://ow.ly/KNQI50yuMkM

This #BlackHistoryMonth, we would like to highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion in the legal field. One woman that paved the way for Black women in the legal field was Charlotte E. Ray, the first Black woman to become a U.S. attorney. She fought for women’s issues such as women's suffrage and equality for Black women. Due to prejudice against women and Black people, she later became a public school teacher. Charlotte pioneered change in her time and proved that Black women could lead the fight for change in the justice system, both then and now.