The United States Department of Labor announced on Dec. 26 that they are suing the National Council of La Raza Action Fund for the wrongful termination of a whistleblower:
The U.S. Department of Labor has sued National Council of La Raza Action Fund Inc., successor to Democracia USA, a nonprofit community engagement and Hispanic voter registration organization in Orlando, for allegedly terminating an employee who raised health concerns about potential exposure to mold and other environmental factors in his workplace. …
In mid-September 2009, the employee began reporting concerns to management about potential exposure to mold and other environmental factors in the workplace, which were making him sick. In November 2009, an air quality test was performed that showed the presence of mold in the workplace. The office was closed for several months. After it reopened, the employee filed a health complaint with the OSHA Tampa Area Office. OSHA conducted an inspection and issued a citation against the employer for violation of OSHA's housekeeping standard. Upon receipt of the OSHA citation, the employee was informed that his employment was terminated. The employee then filed a whistle-blower complaint with OSHA.
National Council of La Raza (NCLR) contributed $10,700 to political candidates such as Rep. Howard Berman (D., Calif.) and Sen. Robert Menendez (D., N.J.) during the 2012 campaign cycle. NCLR also spent $453,000 lobbying; "health issues" ranked as their top lobbying issue.
The organization has been a staunch advocate for healthcare reform. They supported the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and "worked with Congress and the Obama administration on the development of the ACA."
The organization continues to seek "tangible improvements in Latinos' access to health coverage" while working to "eliminate the incidence, burden, and impact of health and environmental problems in Latinos," according to their website.