News & Commentary

The 2019 Top 10. A completely unexhaustive list of (some of) the most absurd civil liberties violations we encountered this year. 

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today announced the settlement of a pair of sex discrimination lawsuits it had filed in 2016 on behalf of two female EMT/firefighters who alleged that the Harmony Fire District in Glocester had terminated them from their jobs because of concerns they had raised about differential treatment between male and female firefighters. The lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Court by ACLU of RI volunteer attorney Sonja Deyoe, were on behalf of Kimberly Perreault, who served as an EMT/firefighter for the Harmony Fire District for 12 years before being terminated in January 2015 for purportedly being “unhappy” with the fire department, and Linda Ferragamo, who had also worked at the department for over a decade before being fired after supporting Perreault’s complaints and objecting to her termination. Without admitting any liability, the Department has agreed to pay Perreault and Ferragamo $12,500 each. The settlement agreements also acknowledge that both women were qualified for the job and were performing their work in “a competent fashion” when they were terminated.

The ACLU of RI today announced the settlement of an age and sex discrimination lawsuit filed last year against the now-closed Newport Grand Casino on behalf of a female employee who claimed that she had been paid less than a younger male employee performing the same duties in the same position. The suit was on behalf of Paula Borrelli, who had worked at Newport Grand since 2007 until the casino closed in 2018.

The ACLU of Rhode Island today commended six current and former elected state officials who have signed onto court briefs this month to urge the U.S. Supreme Court not to roll back civil rights protections for LGBTQ people when it hears a trio of discrimination cases this fall. All of the cases  involve people who were fired for being LGBTQ.

The ACLU of RI today filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Woonsocket for unlawfully withholding critically needed grant funds from Sojourner House, a social service agency that helps victims of domestic violence. Filed by ACLU of RI volunteer attorneys Matthew Oliverio and Stephen Prignano, the lawsuit alleges that the City withheld the funds without cause or due process, and retaliated against the agency after it petitioned other government agencies for help in resolving the dispute over the funds.

The ACLU of RI today filed a sex and age discrimination lawsuit against the Newport Grand Casino on behalf of a female employee who claims that, for a decade, she has been paid significantly less than a younger male employee performing the same duties in the same position. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court by ACLU of RI cooperating attorney Lynette Labinger, is on behalf of Paula Borrelli, who has worked at Newport Grand since 2007 and as a “night manager on duty” (MOD) there since 2008. 

If General Assembly leaders thought paying lip service to women’s rights would satisfy Rhode Islanders, the past two weeks have proven them sorely mistaken. In the short time since legislators concluded their business, their failure to act on separate bills addressing sexual harassment in the workplace and reproductive rights – along with the Democratic Party’s refusal to endorse three progressive women incumbents for office – has generated enormous political controversy. 

The 2018 Legislative Session seemed like it should be the year of #MeToo, but when the General Assembly adjourned at the end of June with an exhausting Saturday session (that almost went into Sunday) they failed to approve legislation ensuring equal pay for equal work, or any of the bills that emerged from a commission tasked with helping address sex harassment in the workplace.

This week is another busy one at the General Assembly with about a month of the session left. Here is a summary of some of the bills affecting civil liberties that are being considered in committee or on the floor this week, but note that more may be added to the calendars in the next day: