Reyes-Hernandez v. Monsanto

Elvira Reyes-Hernandez is a farmworker who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2019 after workplace exposure to Roundup, an herbicide manufactured by Monsanto. She filed suit against Monsanto for Roundup’s role in causing her cancer. She agreed to a settlement of her claims, but Monsanto then refused to finalize the settlement agreement because she is not a U.S. citizen.

Public Citizen serves as co-counsel representing Ms. Reyes-Hernandez in a lawsuit alleging that Monsanto’s refusal violates 42 U.S.C. § 1981, a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of alienage in the making and enforcement of contracts. The lawsuit also names as defendants her former attorneys, who dropped her case when it did not settle, telling her that U.S. citizenship was required for settlement.