The Florida Chapter of National Employment Lawyers Association’s Statement on Racism

First, #BlackLivesMatter.

As the Florida Chapter of NELA, we join NELA to express our profound outrage and sadness regarding the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others in this country who have lost their lives because of the color of their skin. We send love and support to the grieving families and friends who never should have experienced these atrocities.

As workers’ rights advocates, we see the horrific and life altering ways racism and bias strip our clients and their families of the basic human right to earn a living. We see the ways racism results in disgusting harassment of workers who endure oppression and exclusion. We see the ways racism has resulted in unequal pay for our clients, stress, depression and other health disparities. We share in the anger and sorrow of our communities. Finally, we share the responsibility of fighting against the racial oppression and mistreatment of our Black and Brown clients.

We labor daily in our search for justice for our clients and fight every day for a different future for this State, our communities and our country.

Like NELA, FL-NELA was founded to strengthen the legal system to better protect workers from discrimination, to uphold and advance workers’ rights in the face of injustice, and to equip advocates for the fight. In Florida, we know that there is much to be done to erase racism, biased practices and laws that continue to lead to inequality in the workplace.

We are committed to continue on the road to achieve racial justice in this country and in our state of Florida. We are thankful to each of our FL-NELA members who continue to fight racism for workers and their families. We applaud and support the many citizens around the nation and around the world that are protesting and demanding justice now.