Home : Women's Rights

ACLU Praises Senate Introduction of Pay Equity Legislation (07/20/2007)
Washington, DC - The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the Senate introduction of the Fair Pay Restoration Act, companion to H.R. 2831, Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007. This bipartisan legislation would restore protections against pay discrimination that were undermined by the May 29, 2007 Supreme Court decision Ledbetter v. Goodyear.

NYCLU and Fossil, Inc. Settle Discrimination Claim Brought by Breastfeeding Woman (07/03/2007)
NEW YORK - The New York Civil Liberties Union today announced the settlement of a discrimination claim against Fossil, Inc., arising from an incident in which a woman was harassed for attempting to breastfeed her infant son while on a buying trip in the company's Manhattan showroom. New York's civil rights law provides that a mother has a right to breastfeed her baby "in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be."

ACLU Welcomes Pay Equity Legislation in the House of Representatives (06/22/2007)
Washington, DC - The American Civil Liberties Union applauded today’s introduction in the House of Representatives of the “Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007,” legislation aimed at clarifying the law regarding wage discrimination. On May 29, the Supreme Court ruled in Ledbetter v. Goodyear that workers cannot sue for wage discrimination that occurred years earlier. According to the 5-4 decision, the majority held that the plaintiff had no claim because she had not filed a complaint within 180 days of the initial discrimination.

NYCLU Supports Young Bronx Mothers' Call for Adequate Services as City Closes Schools for Pregnant Students (06/08/2007)
NEW YORK - The New York Civil Liberties Union today stood in support of a coalition of Bronx young mothers in their demand that pregnant and parenting students be guaranteed adequate support services after the Department of Education's decision to close the city's "pregnancy schools."

New York City Fails to Meet Pregnant and Parenting Students' Needs, NYCLU Says (05/24/2007)
NEW YORK - The New York Civil Liberties Union today expressed concern that the New York City Department of Education's plan to close four public high schools for pregnant students is not accompanied by a plan to better meet the needs of pregnant and parenting teens citywide.

ACLU Shares Findings of Two-Week Investigation of Girls in Texas Juvenile Justice System (05/24/2007)
AUSTIN, TX - As part of ongoing efforts to reform and restructure Texas’s juvenile justice system, today the American Civil Liberties Union Women’s Rights Project released a preliminary report, A Blueprint for Meeting the Needs of Girls in TYC Custody. On Tuesday the ACLU briefed Texas Youth Commission (TYC) Conservator Jay Kimbrough, Acting Executive Director Ed Owens and new Chief Ombudsman Will Harrell on findings and recommendations in the report that resulted from a two-week investigation of all TYC detention facilities that house girls. The report was presented yesterday to key legislative staffers.

Top U.N. Body on Women’s Issues Must Address Rights of Incarcerated Girls, Says ACLU (03/06/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today called on the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women not to neglect the human rights of girls in government custody. According to the organization, incarcerated girls are particularly vulnerable and subject to violence, abuse and neglect. The priority theme of the 51st annual meeting of U.N. Commission on the Status Women, which meets this week in New York, is “the elimination of discrimination and violence against the girl child.”

Domestic Violence Victim Sues U.S. Government for International Human Rights Violations (03/02/2007)
NEW YORK – Jessica Gonzales, whose three daughters were kidnapped by her estranged husband and killed, and whose domestic violence protection claims were rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court, spoke publicly today for the first time before an adjudicating body, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The American Civil Liberties Union and Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Clinic represented Gonzales.

Court Rules in Favor of Woman Who Was Denied Membership in All Male Club (02/28/2007)
HARTFORD, CT - The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut today hailed an important victory in a lawsuit brought by a woman who was denied membership in the German Social Society because of her gender. The Connecticut Court of Appeals ruled that the lower court committed a legal error when it incorrectly applied a narrow federal standard to the club’s requirement to be open to the public rather than the broader state standard.

Federal Judge Tells Local Alabama Property Manager to Stop Sexual Harassment (02/23/2007)
MONTGOMERY, AL – The American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama today hailed a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins against Jamarlo GumBayTay, an agent of Elite Real Estate Consulting Group, ordering him to cease the sexual harassment of a renter and stop any and all actions to evict her.