LM in Action Newsletters

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Subscribe NowOur LM in Action Series highlights the work of our organization. This national newsletter provides an interesting and challenging look at current legal and political issues critical to the advancement of women and girls. Stay up to date with the changes that lie ahead in the struggle for women's rights.

  • January 2022

    January 27th, 2022 marks two years since Virginia, the last state needed to reach the 38-state threshold, ratified the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Join Legal Momentum and the ERA Coalition as we commemorate with a rally for a more just future for all in Washington, D.C. and livestreamed on Facebook January 27th at noon!

    • Plus more info on what the ERA is and its status today
  • December 2021
    • Legal Momentum applauds the NYC City Council for passing pay equity legislation on December 15, 2021 requiring NYC employers of 4 or more employees to include the minimum and maximum salary in job listings. This law will go into effect in April 2022
    • Legal Momentum, along with partners like PowHerNY, has long advocated for pay transparency legislation in order to address the gender and racial pay gaps 
    • Without these laws, women of color and women in low-wage work continue to face the most sizable and stagnant pay disparities and are disproportionately tasked with identifying and challenging these disparities at high risk to their employment and with little to no support 
    • The hope is that the city's legislation will prompt movement on state level bills so that all New York state employers are required to disclose compensation rates up front when posting job opportunities 
  • December 2021
    • Legal Momentum recently filed an amicus (friend-of-the-court) brief in support of Ms. Wild, who was lied to and denied her right to confer in the Florida Jeffrey Epstein case by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida
    • Legal Momentum's brief in support of Ms. Wild's petition focuses the Court on the sharply divided opinions on this important legal question, both in the decisions underlying Ms. Wild's case and in other cases. It also seeks to educate the Court on the realities of sex trafficking victimization and the obstacles that too often stand in the way of victim participation in the criminal justice system
  • November 2021
    • On November 8th, 2021 we launched our #CallChallengeChange campaign to raise awareness of our Syms Legal Momentum Gender Equality Helpline
    • The Syms Legal Momentum Gender Equality Helpline assists hundreds of individuals every year to fight gender-based discrimination in schools, workplaces, and our justice system 
  • October 2021
    • To wrap up Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Legal Momentum is urging the Senate to pass a strengthened Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization
    • Demand for services related to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking is unprecedented and the need for access to these services is critical
    • In March 2021 the House passed H.R. 1620, a VAWA reauthorization bill that meets the moment for survivors—informed by them and their advocates to strengthen VAWA in ways that reflect survivors’ current experiences. We need the Senate to build on this and introduce a strong VAWA reauthorization bill now.
  • October 2021
    • Legal Momentum’s National Judicial Education Program announces our new suite of resources on Teen Dating Abuse and Violence (TDAV) for judges, court personnel, justice system professionals and others, produced with funding from the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women.
    • The National Judicial Education Program has created a variety of resources to increase awareness on this issue. The full suite of resources can be found on our website in several formats. The Resources Guide can be found at https://www.legalmomentum.org/sites/default/files/reports/TDAV%20Resourc...
    • Resources include six subject matter slide decks, shorter Myths v. Facts presentations, Teen Dating Abuse and Violence information sheets, and Webinars made with the Minnesota Judicial Branch 

     

  • October 2021

    Statement from the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence (NTF) in response to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on VAWA, held yesterday: The Senate Must Introduce and Pass a Robust, Bipartisan VAWA
     

  • October 2021

     

    • Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the Justice Department will utilize the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act to protect those seeking reproductive health services in Texas in the wake of the new abortion ban. As authors of the original 1994 bill, Legal Momentum believes this is well-intentioned, but insufficient to protect the constitutional rights of those seeking abortions in Texas.
    • Legal Momentum drafted the FACE Act in 1994 to protect people from physical intimidation, threats, and violence as they sought reproductive health services, including abortion.
    • There needs to be new, specific legislation to address the new, specific threats to the constitutional rights of people in Texas to safely access reproductive health services including abortions: protect them physically, legally, and financially.
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
    • August 3, 2021 is Black Women's Equal Pay Day, the day a Black woman finally earns what a white, non-Hispanic man earned in 2020—some 215 days into the new year.
    • Two ways we can recognize, and address, this wage gap are by creating equal educational opportunity and creating transparency in pay practices
    • Black girls are disproportionately disciplined as compared to white girls—facing exponentially higher rates of out of school suspensions, expulsions and referrals to law enforcement—based on implicit and explicit gender- and race-based biases.
    • Among those disproportionately disadvantaged by pay secrecy are Black women, who historically have earned less due to discriminatory practices, have less leverage, and are thus in a weaker position to negotiate higher salaries.
    • We continue to advocate for equal educational opportunities by encouraging robust enforcement of our civil rights laws so that Black girls can enter the workforce competitively and we continue to envision and advocate for innovative policies which close the wage gap that has persisted for far too long.
  • July 2021
  • May 2021
    • Legal Momentum and the Center for Urban Pedagogy release a new resource, Women, Know Your Rights at Work!. This fold-out poster in English and Spanish that aims to empower women workers, breaking down information about key workplace protections and practical strategies to assert them.
    • Our guide was created based on input from women workers and intends to tackle some of the unique vulnerabilities and challenges faced by women most underserved by our laws, including women of color, immigrant women, victims of gender-based violence, and the disproportionate number of women working in low-wage industries.
    • The goal of our initiative is to get this resource into the hands of as many women who need this information and often do not have access to it. 

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