ACLU Challenges Day-Laborer Law

Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union, seeking to overturn a day laborer law in Agoura Hills that could have far-reaching ramifications across the region, presented their challenge to a three-member panel of the state appellate court Thursday.

The city ordinance, passed in July, 1991, as a traffic safety measure, prohibits day laborers from soliciting work from cars in the roadway or gesturing from the sidewalk to passing motorists.

Rochelle Browne, the attorney representing the city, said the law is constitutional and that laborers can still solicit work from motorists parked in legal parking spaces.

The civil rights organization is arguing that the law is a smoke screen to conceal its true intention--to prevent mostly Latino male laborers from standing along roadways or on sidewalks and seeking work anywhere in the city--said Robin Toma, the ACLU attorney handling the case.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which provides police services under contract to the city, is named in the lawsuit brought by the legal organization.

“They have applied it in a way that is discriminatory,” he said. In the past, deputies have forced day laborers from the cars of prospective employers, he added.

The outcome of the case is being watched closely by several cities in the Greater Los Angeles area and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, which is considering a similar measure in the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights.

State Appellate Judges Earl Johnson, Mildred Lillie and Frederick Woods are expected to render a decision within 90 days, said attorneys for both sides.