National Employment Lawyers Association
Legislative and Public Policy Office
Washington, DC
The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) advances employee rights and serves lawyers who advocate for equality and justice in the American workplace. It provides assistance and support to lawyers in protecting the rights of employees against the greater resources of their employers and the defense bar. NELA and its 68 state and local afffiliates have more than 3,000 members around the country.
Founded in 1985, NELA is the country's largest professional association that is exclusively comprised of lawyers who represent individual employees in cases involving employment discrimination and other employment-related matters. NELA members represent workers in individual and class actions under federal and state labor and employment laws, including but not limited to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other anti-discrimination statutes; wage and hour laws; family and medical leave; uniformed services personnel employment restoration rights; whistleblower protections; ERISA; privacy protections; and traditional (union-side) labor law.
NELA advances employee rights through legislation, public policy, and other advocacy activities. Opened in 2006, NELA's Legislative and Public Policy Office in Washington, DC advocates for stronger federal employment and labor statutes before the United States Congress and the federal agencies that enforce them (the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Departments of Labor and Justice). Legislative and public-policy initiatives generally spring directly from our members' day-to-day experience representing workers. For example, we have worked on preventing reinstatement of the Motor Carrier Act exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act; opposing appointment of anti-worker federal appellate judges and supporting appointment of pro-worker judges; banning binding, pre-dispute, non-collectively bargained forced arbitration of employment disputes for workers; eliminating taxes on non-economic (compensatory) damages awarded in employment and other civil rights cases; ending the perennial EEOC practice of refusing to accept workers' charges of unlawful discrimination; and restoring the protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
NELA's advocacy also includes filing amicus curiae briefs (generally in the U.S. Supreme Court or federal appeals courts) in support of legal positions that protect or strengthen workers' rights under the various employment laws.
The Peggy Browning Fund Summer Fellow will assist the Legislative & Public Policy Director on all aspects of developing, researching, publicizing, and communicating NELA’s legislative and public-policy priorities. In this capacity, the Fellow will conduct legal research to identify and evaluate legislative proposals; work with NELA members around the country to compile their experiences in representing clients; draft legal memoranda, legislative fact sheets, reports, and talking points; represent NELA at Senate and House hearings and at coalition and legislative meetings; and monitor judicial and agency appointments, Congressional actions, and Federal Register notices. The Summer Fellow will also assist the Program Director (located in the main NELA Office in San Francisco) in legal research and writing on amicus requests and briefs.
Applicants should have completed at least one year of law school. They should possess excellent research, writing, and oral communication skills, be proficient in Microsoft Office, and have a demonstrated commitment to workers’ rights. Experience or course work in employment law is preferred.
The total ten-week stipend for this position will be $4,500.
Address cover letter to:
Eric Gutierrez, Legislative & Public Policy Director
National Employment Lawyers Association
1090 Vermont Ave. NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005
202-898-2880
www.nela.org
Connect with us on