A former employee of the centrist political group No Labels has sued the organization over alleged racial discrimination and retaliation for reporting misconduct, according to a lawsuit that was filed earlier this month.
Mischa Smith, who worked in a variety of positions at No Labels, accused the political group of firing her after she reported racial discrimination to the organization’s leaders, according to the lawsuit that was filed on Aug. 4. Smith, who identifies herself as black in the lawsuit, also alleged she was treated differently from her peers because of her race.
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Beginning in August 2022, Smith was tasked with finding diverse candidates to work for the organization, with a request to recruit “explicitly Black people,” according to court filings. Those instructions allegedly came from No Labels CEO Nancy Jacobson, and no other employee was given a similar task, Smith said.
After several months, Smith filed a complaint expressing concerns that she “felt that she was being treated differently than her similarly situated coworkers who were not black,” the lawsuit stated. Smith also described instances in which she said supervisors gave her onerous and menial tasks while also being pressured to work under unrealistic expectations.
Smith also cited several circumstances in which she was “chastised” by organizational leaders for her work performance, including one instance after Smith said she was “missing metrics due to her attendance at a family funeral.”
“Despite this, Plaintiff had already previously explained that at her contract capacity and bereavement, she was doing the best she could and was meeting her metrics,” the lawsuit stated.
No Labels responded to the legal filing shortly after it was filed, arguing the allegations were unfounded and being used as a political distraction.
“The legal action initiated against No Labels is without merit, and we are fully committed to vigorously defending our position in the court of law,” No Labels Co-Executive Director Liz Morrison said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “This lawfare comes amid a partisan agenda being unleashed against No Labels by an elite network of anti-democracy Democrats.”
Instead, the group pointed to a video published by the Jewish Journal earlier this week “in which a Democratic political operative threatened No Labels and our staff with intimidation and harassment, instructing listeners: ‘There are plenty of things that you can do. Everyone knows a lot of people, and you can activate people in your world that can really have an impact on the No Labels staff and people around them, on their donors and most especially on the candidates that they’re going to try to recruit to run.’”
Smith is requesting compensation for “lost wages, pain and suffering, [and] loss of health insurance,” which allegedly equals out to more than $10,000, according to the lawsuit. She’s also seeking an unspecific amount in punitive damages and reimbursement of legal fees.
The lawsuit comes as No Labels has become more prominent over the last several months due to its efforts to expand ballot access for a third-party presidential candidate in the 2024 elections. The group has already been granted access in 10 states and plans to appear in as many states as possible next year.
So far, the group will appear in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota, and Utah.
“This attack also comes amid the positive news that the No Labels movement has won ballot access in 10 states,” Morrison said. “We remain undeterred and committed to being voices for the millions of Americans who refuse partisanship and embrace commonsense solutions for America.”
Outside Democratic groups have pushed back on No Labels and its efforts for months, pointing to historical evidence showing third-party candidates typically do poorly in general elections. Others have argued a third-party ticket would provide a crucial boost to the GOP and open the door for Trump or a MAGA-aligned candidate to be elected.
However, No Labels pointed to the group’s polling that shows Biden losing to Trump in head-to-head matchups in a number of battleground states that were crucial to his victory in 2020, including Arizona and Georgia. When a third-party candidate is introduced in either of those states, support for both President Joe Biden and Trump diminishes, disproving the theory of a “spoiler candidate,” they said.
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“Introducing a new choice is going to shake those interests up, both on the Democratic side and on the Republican side,” Dritan Nesho, chief pollster for No Labels, told the Washington Examiner last month. “You wouldn’t attack an initiative or an effort if you didn’t think that initiative or that effort has the ability to win. As we’ve said all along since December, we’re in this unprecedented moment in modern American history where an independent really has a viable path.”
It’s not yet clear who the group would tap as its nominees, but the group plans to hold a nominating convention in April should it move forward with plans for a third-party ticket. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has emerged as a top contender for the ticket, with the West Virginia Democrat repeatedly telling reporters he has not decided whether he’ll run for reelection or seek higher office.
