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Sara Blackwell

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Sara Blackwell
Alma materMcNeese State University, Louisiana State University
OccupationEmployment rights attorney
Years active2002 - present
Websitetheblackwellfirm.com

Sara Blackwell is an American attorney specializing in employment law and is the founder of Protect US Workers, a non profit organization.[1] Blackwell gained national media attention when she represented hundreds of United States citizens and permanent residents who were replaced by recipients of H-1B temporary work visas.[2] In 2018, she represented New Orleans Saints cheerleader, Bailey Davis, who was fired for an Instagram post and allegedly attending a party where NFL players were present.[3]

Background

Blackwell earned a B.S. in Criminal Justice from McNeese State University (1999) and her J.D. from Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center (2002). She currently (April 2018) teaches Employment Law at the University of South Florida.[4] Her public sector experience includes working for a judge as a federal court law clerk and she served as an attorney for the Western District of Louisiana. In the private sector, she has worked for several firms as an employment attorney.[1] She is currently the president of The Blackwell Firm.[5]

High profile cases

H-1B visa foreign worker replacement

In 2016, Blackwell represented former Information Technology (IT) personnel of Walt Disney Corporation,[6] in Perrero v. HCL America, Inc. et al.[7] In dismissing the case, Judge Gregory A. Presnell exposed a loophole in the displacement protections afforded United States workers.[8] In the 1998 amendment, a class of exempt H-1B workers was created with the minimum criterion of either a master's degree or a $60,000 salary. The exemption is only available to H-1B Dependent firms who employ 15% or more of their personnel on H-1B (or L-1) visas. The Atlantic reports that these firms, primarily specializing in outsourcing, are free to replace older or more expensive employees with temporary foreign workers.[9]

Undeterred with the dismissal in Perrero v. HCL America, Inc. et al., Blackwell provided representation and organizational expertise in several similar H-1B cases: 49 career IT personnel at the University of California, Davis, forced to train their replacements, resulting in a workforce reduction of 97 personnel,[10] 400 IT personnel trained their replacements at Southern California Edison, 200 similarly dismissed IT personnel from Carnival Cruise Line,[11] and in its 220 personnel separation, Eversource Energy labeled the training of replacements as "knowledge transfer".[12]

Blackwell has appeared on 60 Minutes,[12] and spoke at Trump presidential campaign rallies, but she voiced frustration with the administration's progress in addressing the flawed temporary foreign worker programs in March 2017.[13]

NFL cheerleaders differential treatment

In March 2018, the New York Times printed the story of a former New Orleans Saints cheerleader's E.E.O.C. filing concerning the team's employment policies. The New York Times learned from Bailey Davis' interviews, emails and an eight-page handbook that unlike the rule for NFL players, the team has an anti-fraternization policy where cheerleaders must leave public accommodations if a player enters the room, may not speak to and must block NFL players on social media, may not be photographed in uniform and may not appear nude or in revealing attire.[3] Davis was fired for appearing on her private Instagram in a one piece bathing suit.[14]

A Blackwell orchestrated a series of television interviews gained wide exposure in the United States,[15][16][17][18] and with some international publishers.[19][20] In April, former Miami Dolphins cheerleader, Kristan Ann Ware, joined with Davis as an additional plaintiff concerning an incident related to her religion, the team admits to the incident and that it reprimanded the supervisory employee; however, that employee is still with the team.[21][22]

As of April 29, 2018, the plaintiffs are seeking arbitration with the NFL and one dollar in compensation.[23][24] Prior to the Bailey Davis E.E.O.C. filing, Time magazine reported that NFL cheerleaders are paid about $10.00 per hour, and these salaries are often capped. An earlier lawsuit claimed with additional commitments and expenses, a San Francisco 49ers cheerleader earned about $2.75 per hour.[25]

Publications

Blackwell has contributed to the Jambalaya News, the Times Southwest and the City Social of Baton Rouge.[26]

Books

  • Destiny Of One, Sara Blackwell, The Peppertree Press, December 3, 2014, ISBN 978-1614933106[27]
  • Venergy, Sara Blackwell and Emily Gerety, Pants On Fire Press, Mar 16, 2017, ISBN 978-0982727140[28]

References

  1. ^ a b Mulvaney, Erin (2018-04-24). "Meet the Florida Lawyer Who's Calling Foul on Workplace Rules for NFL Cheerleaders - National Law Journal". National Law Journal. Archived from the original on 2018-04-29. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  2. ^ Whitaker, Bill (2017-08-13). "Are U.S. jobs vulnerable to workers with H-1B visas?". CBS News. Archived from the original on 2018-04-29. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  3. ^ a b "How an Instagram Post Led to an N.F.L. Cheerleader's Discrimination Case". The New York Times. 2018-03-25. Archived from the original on 2018-04-25. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  4. ^ "About". The Blackwell Firm. Archived from the original on 2018-04-30. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  5. ^ "NFL Cheerleader Wants $1, Meeting With Goodell to Settle Claims". Legal, Tax, EHS, and HR Expert Information & Analysis. 2018-04-25. Archived from the original on 2018-05-02. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
  6. ^ Wakabayashi, Daisuke; Schwartz, Nelson D. (2017-01-29). "Not Everyone in Tech Cheers Visa Program for Foreign Workers". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2017-02-12. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  7. ^ "Perrero v. HCL America, Inc. et al, No. 6:2016cv00112 - Document 50 (M.D. Fla. 2016)". Justia Law. 2018-04-20. Archived from the original on 2018-04-29. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  8. ^ Preston, Julia (2016-01-25). "Judge Says Disney Didn't Violate Visa Laws in Layoffs". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
  9. ^ Campbell, Alexia Fernández (2016-12-06). "There's a Clear Way to Fix the H-1B Visa Program". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 2018-04-29. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  10. ^ Hiltzik, Michael (2017-01-07). "How the University of California exploited a visa loophole to move tech jobs to India". latimes.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-29. Retrieved 2018-04-29. UC San Francisco, the system's biggest medical center, announced in July that it would lay off 49 career IT staffers and eliminate 48 other IT jobs that were vacant or filled by contract employees. The workers are to be gone as of Feb. 28. In the meantime they've been ordered to train their own replacements, who are employees of the Indian outsourcing firm HCL Technologies.
  11. ^ Thibodeau, Patrick (2016-12-23). "Facing layoff at Carnival, IT employee makes bold counteroffer". Computerworld. Archived from the original on 2018-04-29. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  12. ^ a b ""60 Minutes" examines H-1B visas outsourcing American jobs". CBS News. 2017-03-17. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  13. ^ Anderson, Zac (2017-03-25). "Sarasota attorney Sara Blackwell says President Trump "betrayed" visa critics". Sarasota Herald. Archived from the original on 2018-04-29. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  14. ^ "An NFL Cheerleader Brings Her Firing Over An Instagram Photo To The EEOC". NPR.org. 2018-04-15. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  15. ^ "#BIGPICTURE: Saints cheerleader fired for posting instagram photo". NBC News. 2018-03-28. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  16. ^ "New Orleans Saints Cheerleader Bailey Davis Claims She Was Fired for Posing in Racy Bodysuit". Inside Edition. 2018-03-26. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  17. ^ "Ex-NFL Cheerleader Claims She Was Fired Over Instagram Photo, Calls Out Different Rules for Players". PEOPLE.com. 2018-03-27. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  18. ^ "Fired New Orleans Saints cheerleader files discrimination complaint". USA TODAY. 2018-03-26. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  19. ^ Brady, Marianna (2018-03-29). "NFL cheerleader 'fired for Instagram post'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2018-04-28. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  20. ^ "Accusations of double standards faced by NFL cheerleaders". ABC Radio Australia. 2018-04-19. Archived from the original on 2018-04-30. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  21. ^ "Ex-Dolphins cheerleader claims she faced discrimination after admitting being a virgin". NBC News. 2018-04-29. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  22. ^ "Dolphins cheerleader says she faced discrimination after revealing her virginity". Washington Post. 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2018-04-30.[dead link]
  23. ^ "Former N.F.L. Cheerleaders Offer to Settle for $1 and a Meeting With Goodell". The New York Times. 2018-04-24. Archived from the original on 2018-04-27. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  24. ^ "Ex-cheerleaders offer to settle claims against NFL for $1 each and meeting with Roger Goodell". Washington Post. 2018-04-25. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  25. ^ Tuttle, Brad (2018-02-01). "6 Things You Didn't Know About the Careers of NFL Cheerleaders". Money. Archived from the original on 2018-04-30. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  26. ^ "Dream. Rise. Lead". International Association of Women (IAW). Archived from the original on 2018-05-01. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  27. ^ Blackwell, S. (2014). Destiny of One. Peppertree Press. ISBN 978-1-61493-310-6. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  28. ^ Blackwell, S.; Gerety, E.; Powers, D.M.F. (2017). Venergy. Pants On Fire Press. ISBN 978-0-9827271-4-0. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
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