Community and civil rights advocates, religious leaders and farmworkers gathered in Albany today to urge state lawmakers to enact the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act – legislation that will extend basic labor rights and protections to the state’s farmworkers.

Transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers too often face severe discrimination and harassment in their daily lives but are denied basic civil rights protections that other state residents take for granted, according to a report released today by the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Policy and Legislative Advocacy Clinic at Fordham University School of Law.

The leadership of the New York Civil Liberties Union today denounced the State Legislature’s passage of legislation allowing police to collect a genetic sample of every person convicted of any crime in New York State, saying the measure will do little to enhance public safety while increasing the likelihood of wrongful convictions and flawed prosecutions.

A reported deal over legislation that would allow the police to collect a genetic sample of every person convicted of any crime was dismissed today by the leadership of the New York Civil Liberties Union as an invitation for error, fraud and abuse. “The politics of forensic DNA are way ahead good science and public policy,” said NYCLU Legislative Director Robert Perry. “This deal is long on collection of DNA samples and short on justice, fairness and the integrity of state crime labs.”

Advocates from the legal and scientific communities joined state lawmakers in Albany today to urge Gov. Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers to include measures that promote fairness and accountability as part of any legislation expanding New York’s DNA databank.

Policymakers must take steps to better protect patient privacy as New York State develops electronic networks for sharing people’s medical records, according to a report released today by the New York Civil Liberties Union. “Easily shareable electronic health records clearly can improve the quality of medical care, but without careful planning, they also pose a genuine threat to privacy,” NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said. “Policymakers must ensure that private medical information is secure and that patients have control over who can access their medical records.”

As part of the settlement of a federal lawsuit concerning the 2008 closure of a local arts and media center after a controversial exhibit opened there, the City of Troy will partner with the media center on a grant application to the National Endowment for the Arts.

Legislation that would allow religious worship services inside public schools would threaten New Yorkers’ religious freedom, the New York Civil Liberties Union will argue today in testimony before the New York City Council’s Education Committee. During the 2010-11 school year, about 160 religious congregations – almost all Christian churches – held Sunday worship services in New York City schools.

New York Supreme Court Justice Eugene Devine today upheld New York’s law ending prison-based gerrymandering in the Little v. LATFOR lawsuit. His decision squarely rejects the plaintiffs’ claim that the New York law violated various provisions of the New York State Constitution. The New York Civil Liberties Union was among seven civil rights organizations representing 15 voters from around New York State who joined the suit as intervenor-defendants.

On Thursday evening in Albany, the New York Civil Liberties Union’s Capital Region Chapter will honor two state legislators for their long-time advocacy of fair marriage laws, and a grassroots coalition that fights injustice in the state’s prison system.