Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center advises thousands of people each year like Hai Sheng Hu, who cannot afford the representation they need to realize their rights.
A mover and truck driver, Hu needed medical leave to undergo treatment for lung cancer, but when he asked for it he was fired. He couldn’t fight his termination at first, no matter how solid his case, because he had no funds to pay a lawyer, and no one is guaranteed legal representation outside of criminal court. Then he learned from a friend about the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center, which provides free legal services and public information, advocates for policy change, and litigates cases with broader impact.
LAS-ELC investigated and found that, in addition to facing cancer and being fired, Hu had not been paid for overtime he had worked for several years and was due thousands of dollars. He eventually won a settlement of $39,700.
“Legal Aid’s work helped me to overcome obstacles in my life and stabilize my life again,” Hu says.
With Hu’s cancer now in remission, he and his wife have returned to the life they had been building in California since they arrived from Shanghai in 2000.
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