Class Action Complaint Seeks to Reverse Unlawful Funding Freeze for Senior Community Service Employment Program 

Massachusetts – Democracy Forward and Jacobson Lawyers Group PLLC filed a lawsuit today on behalf of four individuals to stop the Trump-Vance administration from unlawfully withholding funds from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) – a more than 60-year old program that provides employment opportunities and job training to older Americans who need a lifeline to get back into the workforce. The legal challenge, Jones et al v. Department of Labor et al, is a class action complaint that seeks to restore more than $300 million in grants to nationwide nonprofit organizations. 

“Tens of thousands of older Americans are in dire need of the court’s intervention to save this vital program,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “The Trump-Vance administration’s baseless and unlawful funding freeze is causing real harm to real people. Democracy Forward is honored to work with our clients to seek a solution that will protect everyone who relies on the Senior Community Service and Employment Program.” 

“The Department of Labor is illegally withholding funds that support senior citizens who are simply trying to make a living, gain skills essential to navigating the modern workforce, and serve their communities,” said Lynn Eisenberg of Jacobson Lawyers Group. “We are proud to stand with these participants and the tens of thousands of others they represent in demanding that the government continue this vital program.”

The plaintiffs in the case are Vonda Jones, Christina Davies, Rochelle St. John, and Maria Garcia Pagan, older Americans from Georgia, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Puerto Rico respectively who have all directly benefitted from SCSEP. The plaintiffs are seeking to protect SCSEP on behalf of the tens of thousands of similarly situated seniors who would suffer incredible harm if the Labor Department and Office of Management and Budget donot release SCSEP funds. 

“This program has been a lifeline for all of us, providing training, income, and the opportunity to serve our communities. The administration’s decision to withhold funds has left seniors across the country without the support they depend on. We are bringing this case to protect not only ourselves but tens of thousands of elder Americans who deserve the chance to work and contribute,” said Vonda Jones, lead plaintiff in the case.

SCSEP was created by Congress in 1965 to provide grants to both states and national nonprofit organizations to help train and offer community-service oriented job experiences for unemployed older Americans seeking to transition back into the workforce. The program has been a lifeline for participants, who gain valuable skills training and experience through part-time, minimum wage work aimed at helping them secure permanent jobs. For the communities where participants work, SCSEP offers a tremendous positive benefit, as participants contribute thousands of work hours to hospitals, schools, local government agencies, senior centers, and other public and nonprofit organizations in positions that might not otherwise exist. 

Though the Department of Labor has executed the program for 60 years and Congress has provided ample funding for it, the Trump-Vance administration has inexplicably withheld funding to nonprofit organizations, which administer the vast majority of SCSEP efforts across the nation, imperiling access for tens of thousands of older Americans experiencing vulnerable circumstances and threatening to force many into homelessness and economic hardship. 

The legal team at Democracy Forward working on the case includes Steve Bressler and Kali Schellenberg. The legal team at Jacobson Lawyers Group includes Dan Jacobson, Lynn Eisenberg, and Kyla Snow.

Read the full complaint here.

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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.