National Employment Law Project

National Employment Law Project
Name	National Employment Law Project
Founded	1969
Founder	William H. Hastie
Headquarters	New York, New York
Type	Nonprofit advocacy organization
Focus	Labor law reform, unemployment insurance, wage enforcement

National Employment Law Project is an American nonprofit advocacy organization focused on advancing workplace rights and labor standards through litigation, research, and policy advocacy. It operates in the United States with a history of litigation and rulemaking engagement, and it participates in legislative debates at federal and state levels. The organization interacts with a wide range of actors across the labor movement, civil rights network, and public policy community.

History

The organization traces institutional roots to postwar legal and civil rights actors such as William H. Hastie and legal strategies from the era of the Civil Rights Movement, with early work intersecting with campaigns involving the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, and legal developments like the National Labor Relations Act. In the 1970s and 1980s its activities paralleled litigation trends exemplified by cases from the Supreme Court of the United States and regulatory shifts influenced by agencies such as the United States Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. During the 1990s and 2000s the group engaged with policy debates surrounding the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and administrative rulemaking under successive presidential administrations including the Clinton administration, the Bush administration, and the Obama administration.

Mission and Issues Advocated

The organization advocates for strengthened protections in areas including wage and hour law, unemployment insurance, workplace safety, and collective bargaining rights, positioning itself alongside other actors like the AFL–CIO, the Service Employees International Union, and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. It advances reforms connected to statutes such as the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and engages with litigation strategies used in landmark decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States and appeals courts. The group also addresses intersections with civil rights law exemplified by cases from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and statutory frameworks like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and administrative rules promulgated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Organizational Structure and Funding

The organization is structured with a national office and regional staff, overseen by an executive director and a board of directors drawn from the labor bar and policy community, including figures who have worked with institutions such as the Brennan Center for Justice, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Ford Foundation. Funding has historically come from a mix of private foundations—such as the Open Society Foundations and the Rockefeller Foundation—alongside philanthropic entities like the Ford Foundation and program grants from policy centers including the Economic Policy Institute and the Brookings Institution. Litigation and amicus activity are staffed by in-house attorneys and collaborating counsel from public interest law firms and university legal clinics affiliated with institutions like Harvard Law School and Columbia Law School.

Major Campaigns and Litigation

The group has pursued strategic litigation and administrative advocacy in matters involving wage theft, independent contractor classification, and unemployment insurance expansions. It has filed or joined amicus briefs in cases brought before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and state supreme courts such as the New York Court of Appeals and the California Supreme Court. Campaigns have paralleled national movements like the Fight for $15 and regulatory efforts including rulemakings by the United States Department of Labor concerning overtime and joint employer standards. The organization’s litigation tactics echo precedents set in cases like Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes and debates over preemption shaped by decisions such as Gade v. National Solid Wastes Management Association.

Research, Publications, and Policy Impact

The organization produces policy reports, issue briefs, and empirical studies used by legislators in state capitols such as Albany, New York and Sacramento, California and by federal committees including the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the United States House Committee on Education and Labor. Publications have examined the effects of laws including the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and programs like Unemployment insurance in the United States, and have been cited in academic journals and media outlets alongside scholarship from institutions like Princeton University, University of California, Berkeley, and Yale Law School. The organization’s policy recommendations have influenced legislative proposals and executive actions during administrations such as the Obama administration and have informed state-level reforms in jurisdictions like California and New York.

Partnerships and Coalitions

The organization works in coalition with labor unions such as the AFL–CIO, the Service Employees International Union, and the Teamsters, civil rights groups including the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union, legal allies like the National Employment Lawyers Association, and advocacy networks such as the Economic Policy Institute and the Center for American Progress. It also collaborates with academic centers including the Harvard Labor and Worklife Program and legal clinics at Yale Law School and Columbia Law School to pursue litigation, research, and legislative campaigns.

Category:Non-profit organizations based in New York City