WorkLife Law Celebrates 60 Years of Landmark Anti-Discrimination Law at White House

WorkLife Law Co-Director Jessica Lee and WLL Board Member Tina Sherman celebrate the 60th anniversary of Title VII at a White House event July 29. The law remains an essential tool used by the center to protect workers’ rights.

Acknowledging its efforts to defend workers’ rights, UC Law SF’s Center for WorkLife Law (WLL) was invited to a White House event marking six decades since the passage of a landmark antidiscrimination law.

WLL Co-Director Jessica Lee was among those present to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The groundbreaking law remains an essential tool the center uses to protect the health, safety, and economic security of pregnant and caregiving workers.

Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on one’s race, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender), color, religion, or national origin. It also established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a federal agency that enforces the law.

Lee was joined at the White House event by fellow leaders in the movement to advance workers’ rights, including WLL Board Member and ACLU Senior Staff Attorney Gillian Thomas, EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows, EEOC Vice Chair Jocelyn Samuels, and Title VII plaintiffs.

WLL works to fight discrimination in jobs and education through research, advocacy, grassroots partnerships, and direct assistance to students and workers. Some of its recent projects include operating the nation’s first and only legal resource center for pregnant and parenting students, empowering pregnant farmworkers to assert their legal rights through the Dar a Luz initiative, and working to ensure employees and students are not penalized for their reproductive health choices.

Read more about WLL’s involvement in the White House celebration here.