National Women's Law Center

Reproductive rights and healthprotected access to reproductive health care by challenging pharmacy refusals to fill prescriptions because of personal beliefs: - filed an amicus brief in july 2023 in the Minnesota court of appeals supporting a woman denied emergency contraception by her local pharmacy. The brief highlighted the specific, serious harms caused by a refusal to fill an emergency contraception prescription. On march 18, 2024, the Minnesota court of appeals held that a refusal to dispense emergency contraception because it may interfere with a pregnancy is sex discrimination. Litigated to stop an insurance company, aetna, from requiring lgbtq+ beneficiaries to pay more out of pocket and wait longer than heterosexual couples to access the fertility benefits covered by their health plans.- reached a settlement in may 2024 in our first lawsuit against aetna. Under the settlement, aetna will modify its clinical policy so all eligible plan members will have equal access to fertility treatment regardless of sexual orientation.identified and worked with state partners to assist their education and advocacy work to protect access to abortion and contraception.assisted patients, providers, and others in need of help on various abortion and contraception issues: - provided individualized, one-on-one assistance to more than 40 abortion providers facing employment-related barriers in their work. - assisted individuals having trouble obtaining no-cost contraceptive coverage through our coverher hotline. We used real-world insights gained from coverher to help educate policymakers, health care providers, and the media about the state of contraception access.provided legal analysis regarding the federal government's services concerning reproductive rights and health:- published resources on federal actions to protect access to reproductive health care for military families. - responded to a request for information (rfi) regarding insurance coverage of over-the-counter contraception to help ensure that cost is not a barrier. Provided information about the importance of access to Women's preventive services without financial barriers:- submitted an amicus brief to the fifth circuit court of appeals in support of the affordable care act's requirement to provide Women's preventive care without cost-sharing, including contraception and breastfeeding services and supplies. The brief highlighted the harms of invalidating the provisions.supported access to emergency abortion care through litigation and robust public education efforts.- submitted an amicus brief to the u.s. supreme court on behalf of 98 other gender justice organizations in a case about access to emergency abortion care.led work with advocates to build education and support for new federal protections for abortion, birth control, and access to both.- provided public education on new measures to protect contraception, including the right to contraception act and the access to birth control act.- we joined leading reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations to launch abortion access now, a campaign to educate and engage people around the need for a new federal right to abortion and abortion access. Created and distributed resources to connect abortion and worker justice and support the implementation of newly passed reproductive freedom ballot measures.provided legal arguments in support of access to gender-affirming care for transgender young people. - filed an amicus brief in august 2023 in l.w. V. skrmetti and doe v. thornbury. The brief argued that bans on gender-affirming care are unlawful because they discriminate based on sex by singling out transgender youth. The brief supported transgender young people, parents, and doctors, who challenged new state laws threatening this critical health care.

Workplace justiceaddressing and dismantling workplace barriers:- worked to support new federal rules protecting workers. -- advocated for the creation of robust regulations implementing the pregnant workers fairness act (pwfa), a federal Law that provides workers with the right to reasonable workplace accommodations to address temporary limitations due to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Filed an amicus brief in may 2024 in state of Tennessee v. equal employment opportunity commission (eeoc) in support of the rule and highlighting the importance of the regulations, including for workers seeking abortion care. -- in september 2023, the department of labor (dol) issued a proposed rule to raise the salary threshold used to determine whether an employee is exempt from overtime pay protections under the fair labor standards act. The rule would benefit an estimated 3.6 million workers - 57% of whom are women. Nwlc submitted comments in support of the proposed rule, secured 53 signatories for an additional comment letter expressing support for the rule from the gender justice community, and provided technical assistance to others raising concerns about the rule. -- in september 2023, the centers for medicare and medicaid services (cms) proposed a rule to establish a minimum staffing standard for direct care workers providing care to residents of long-term care facilities. The vast majority of direct care workers are women, disproportionately women of color. Nwlc submitted comments supporting the proposed rule, emphasizing how an adequate staffing standard can improve both job quality for workers and quality of care for residents.-- in january 2024, dol issued a final rule clarifying the standard for distinguishing between employee and independent contractor status under the fair labor standards act. Workers misclassified as independent contractors are deprived of significant protections such as the minimum wage and overtime pay, along with rights ensuring women are treated equally at work. Nwlc supported this rule with public comments when it was proposed in 2022 and educated policymakers and the public about its importance for working women.-- in january 2024 the government announced new measures to help close gender and racial wage gaps, including the banning of salary history probes for federal government employers and the proposal to extend the rule to federal contractors. Prior to the rule's enactment, nwlc submitted comments supporting a salary history ban for federal workers in june 2023.- protected wage increases for tipped workers in the district of columbia. -- co-led a coalition to protect a ballot initiative passed overwhelmingly by d.c. Voters from being overturned. The ballot initiative will require d.c. Employers to pay tipped workers the full minimum wage, with tips on top. - litigated in the courts to fight for fair hiring practices, equal pay, and pay transparency.-- filed a charge with the eeoc in october 2023 on behalf of a nonprofit organization that advocates for women truckers and three individual women truck drivers. The charge alleges that the Women's employer routinely refuses to hire women truck drivers or substantially delays hiring them.-- continued our federal lawsuit in schulman v. zoetis, inc. against an animal health company for paying our client, a female veterinary pathologist, a fraction of what it paid less-experienced men doing the same job. The company created this disparity in part by basing men's pay on their prior salaries. The challenge to these policies seeks to establish that employers cannot "solve" the problem of harassment in male-dominated industries by erecting further barriers to Women's entry into these industries.- provided research, testimony, and communications support to state partners advancing pay transparency legislation to help close gender and racial wage gaps in Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Vermont.- co-led an amicus brief at the fifth circuit about the need for a rule protecting tipped workers.- weighed in at the supreme court in muldrow v. city of st. louis, explaining the variety of forms sex-based discrimination can take in the workplace, co-leading an amicus brief demonstrating that discrimination takes many forms, and that disadvantaging workers because of a protected characteristic violates title vii's broad prohibition on discrimination, regardless of whether that degradation affects the worker's take-home pay.

Women's legal rightstransforming the federal judiciary through promoting judicial integrity and judicial nominations:- co-led a coalition of advocates working to confirm qualified and impartial federal judges to lifetime appointments, as well as working to advance ethics reforms to the supreme court.connecting legal and policy leaders across the country:- launched the state gender policy collective to educate and engage state leaders working to advance gender justice across the states.-- convened state policymakers and advocates from across the country to discuss obstacles and opportunities for gender justice. Provided updates through a newsletter analyzing gender justice policy trends across states. - worked with state partners to help build capacity in core gender justice issues, including abortion, housing, and the care economy.

Addressing educational barriers faced by women, girls, and lgbtqi+ individuals:- supported trans students and lgbtqi+ students through litigation.-- filed a motion in may 2024 to intervene in gaines v. ncaa to protect the rights of transgender women to play ncaa college sports.-- filed department of education office of civil rights complaints alleging that book bans in cobb county, Georgia, and collier county, Florida, in combination with other discriminatory acts, have created a hostile environment for lgbtqi+ students and students of color in violation of title ix and title vi. - released a report to educate advocates and the public about the challenges to black girls' safety in schools. The black students we talked to detailed frequently experiencing humiliation, surveillance, physical harm, and invasion of their privacy.- led efforts to restore and strengthen title ix's protections against sex discrimination and harassment in schools. Educated the public and partners about the critical importance of the rule. Income security and child care- supported women impacted by the intersection of caregiving and income insecurity who shared their experiences with the media and lawmakers through the sparking change program. These community leaders and storytellers engaged in local, state, and National advocacy efforts, including working with the media, participating in community building events, and speaking at panels and conferences. In its first year, the pilot worked with five black women in south carolina and five latina women in new mexico. - continued building nwlc's first-ever community-led participatory grantmaking fund after unveiling the community impact fund (cif) in 2023.-- allocated financial resources to organizations to address specific community needs identified through a participatory grantmaking model. Nwlc spent more than a year in a design and advisory phase, carefully building out the project with partner organizations a nd storytellers. Initiated the cif's inaugural grantmaking cycle through two, two-year grants to organizations in new mexico and south carolina. - supported child care advocates and early educators in the states by acting as a research, technical assistance, and connection hub.-- tracked progress on child care and early education in the states and published our flagship annual 50-state child care assistance report, "two steps forward, one step back: child care assistance policies 2023." -- convened approximately 100 state and National child care advocates in december 2023 for our annual state child care convening to strategize and share resources on making progress on child care and early education at the state level. -- provided technical assistance to advocates in states such as Georgia and Maryland, contributing to their successful efforts to advocate for child care investments. We also met directly with advocates in states like new hampshire and new york to support their growing coalitions and help them engage in broader child care movement work. -- provided training and strategy at the 2024 National early childhood education workforce convening.-- hosted monthly communications webinars sharing strategies with partners and advocates.-- held webinars on timely developments in the states, including one on Kentucky's new policy allowing child care teachers to be categorically eligible for child care assistance for their own children.- provided invited testimony before the joint economic committee during care workers recognition month (april 2024) on the importance of access to affordable, high-quality care. - published several reports documenting the child care crisis and making the case for emergency funding.-- analyzed monthly jobs data, finding an alarming decline in the child care workforce and increase in the share of people in the united states who were absent from work due to child care access challenges. -- released the results of a new survey on the costs of child care.-- worked with advocates and the public to secure an increase in federal funding for child care and early education. - developed and disseminated materials on the role of the tax code in creating more equitable caregiving policies. -- commissioned new polling to craft communications messaging around the connection between care and taxes. The results from the polling influenced talking points, social media, and op-eds. -- wrote and sent a fact sheet to partner organizations and advocates about the tax code and child care.-- coordinated a sign-on letter with more than 80 signatories about the importance of expanding the child tax credit.- released a report and held an event educating advocates and the public on private equity's expansion into child care, which threatens to exploit the industry at the expense of children, families, and workers.-- reported on private equity funds' already significant presence in the largest u.s. child care companies and analyzed the growing risks of financialization and corporate capture if private equity funds gain more of a foothold in the industry. National and local outlets cited the report's findings in their reporting on for-profit care and child care privatization. -- hosted a public convening in june 2024 summarizing the findings and held a private convening of grassroots organizers and policy experts to strategize on next steps.

Times up legal defense fund and legal network for gender equalityassisting individuals who experience sex discrimination at work, school, or when seeking health care:- connected 7,080 individuals facing situations involving workplace sex harassment and/or related retaliation with free legal help between january 2018 and may 31, 2024. About 40 percent of those individuals identified as people of color and about 80 percent identified as low-income.- provided financial support for 401 legal matters involving workplace sex harassment and/or related retaliation between january 2018 ad may 31, 2024. In the same period, the fund provided financial support for media and storytelling assistance in 158 matters involving workplace sex harassment and/or related retaliation. - supported the following legal matters, among others, between july 1, 2023, and june 30, 2024:-- provided legal funding to support the case of nonbinary hairstylist in Texas who, after speaking out online about workplace sexual harassment, was sued by their abuser. The survivor won a jury trial, meaning that they will not have to pay damages to the abuser and their testimonial about the harassment can remain online. -- provided legal funding to support a federal lawsuit brought on behalf of a class of female corrections officers in the midwest. The workers experienced regular egregious sexual harassment and sexual assault, even after they repeatedly reported the abuse to their employer. -- supplied funding to support a lawsuit brought on behalf of a female firefighter in California who experienced sex- and race-based harassment, including assault, by her supervisor and co-workers. Her employer took no action to correct the abuse even after she reported it several times.- hosted regular webinars for attorneys in the legal network for gender equity on topics including recent legislation and litigation affecting lgbtqi+ students and sexual harassment and assault.

Abortion access legal defense fund- provided legal financial assistance to help pay for certain legal expenses abortion patients or supporters may incur because they sought abortion or helped someone obtain an abortion or information about abortion care. - funded both defensive and affirmative legal representation in federal and state court as well as administrative proceedings, ensuring attorneys begin representation on the strongest possible footing.