LAAW Blog

Infographic showing the wages lost over a 40 year career, with a woman next to bags of money of various sizes: AAPI Women at 400k, white women at $555k, black women at $964k, native women at $986k, and Latina/Hispanic women at $1,163k.

Working for Free: A Day in the Life of a Female American Worker

March 24, 2021

Nora Cassidy, Staff Attorney, Legal Aid at Work

As I write this in the middle of my workday, I think about the fact that as of 2:40 p.m. I started working for free. Those calls I made, emails I sent, clients I spoke with—all for free. The grocery store cashier who rang up my groceries, the journalist who interviewed me on how to … Continue reading “Working for Free: A Day in the Life of a Female American Worker”

Cover of COVID-19 Policy Playbook featuring images of people on a globe with images of the coronavirus in the background

Sharon Terman Co-Authors Chapter on Paid Leave and Unemployment Insurance during the Pandemic and Beyond as part of the COVID-19 Policy Playbook

March 23, 2021

The United States continues to address and recover from the year-old COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in more than 500,000 deaths so far and a historic economic recession. Fifty top legal experts, convene to offer a new assessment of the U.S. policy response to the crisis, COVID-19 Policy Playbook: Legal Recommendations for a Safer, More … Continue reading “Sharon Terman Co-Authors Chapter on Paid Leave and Unemployment Insurance during the Pandemic and Beyond as part of the COVID-19 Policy Playbook”

California Passes Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Law to Protect Workers and the Public During COVID-19

March 22, 2021

On March 19th, Governor Newsom signed California’s COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Law (SB 95). We are happy to share that the law gives many workers access to two weeks of paid sick leave, dating back to January 1, 2021. Before the law’s passage, many workers had access to only three days of paid sick … Continue reading “California Passes Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Law to Protect Workers and the Public During COVID-19”

Statement of LAAW President Joan Graff Regarding the Recent Wave of Anti-Asian Violence

March 18, 2021

We are heartbroken for our friends, colleagues, and communities who have been put in harm’s way as the terrifying display of anti-Asian racism sweeps across our country and jeopardizes the wellbeing of members of the AAPI community. We are at a moment of inflection. We have seen firsthand the scapegoating and denigration of immigrants and … Continue reading “Statement of LAAW President Joan Graff Regarding the Recent Wave of Anti-Asian Violence”

Image of LAAW Attorneys Kim Turner and Elizabeth Kristen Testifying Alongside Two Other Witnesses

Fair Play For Girls in Sports Project Testifies Before California State Assembly on Gender Inequity Issues in Youth Sports Reopening and Importance of Instilling Equity

March 18, 2021

Legal Aid at Work’s Fair Play for Girls in Sports project testified at a Joint Informational Hearing (testimony here) convened by the California State Assembly’s Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media and the Higher Education Committee on March 17, 2021. The Committee Chair, the Honorable Assembly Member Sharon Quirk-Silva, and the Honorable Vice-Chair Assembly Member … Continue reading “Fair Play For Girls in Sports Project Testifies Before California State Assembly on Gender Inequity Issues in Youth Sports Reopening and Importance of Instilling Equity”

Two female basketball players charging down the court with a ball

We Can Level the Playing Field for Girls in Sports

February 2, 2021

Kim Turner, Fair Play for Girls in Sports Sr. Staff Attorney & Project Director

Every day, girls and young women face persistent, blatant gender inequities in school and community sports in towns and cities throughout the nation. Across the U.S., even though girls want to play in greater numbers, high schools give one million more athletic opportunities to boys compared to girls, including 100,000+ more in California. In community … Continue reading “We Can Level the Playing Field for Girls in Sports”

(Photo by Ted Eytan**)

LAAW Unveils New Resources for LGBTQ Workers and Introduces Skadden Fellow Jared Odessky

January 22, 2021

LAAW is excited to share our updated resources for LGBTQ workers in California, and to introduce Jared Odessky, who will provide expanded legal services for LGBTQ workers. Our new fact sheet on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination and Harassment provides up-to-date information about workers’ legal rights under federal and state anti-discrimination law. Among other revisions, the … Continue reading “LAAW Unveils New Resources for LGBTQ Workers and Introduces Skadden Fellow Jared Odessky”

Image of U.S. Capitol Building with Dark Storm Clouds

Statement of Legal Aid at Work President Joan Graff on the Violent Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6

January 13, 2021

January 6, 2021 will go down in history as a day of ignominy and reckoning in our Nation. We saw the very heart of our democracy under violent attack by right wing rioters aiming to disrupt the orderly transfer of power to the duly and fairly elected President and Vice-President elect—Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. … Continue reading “Statement of Legal Aid at Work President Joan Graff on the Violent Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6”

Image of Mary Jo Shartis sitting at a wood table with Legal Aid at Work President Joan Graff

Mary Jo Shartsis, 1942-2021

January 5, 2021

We mourn the loss of our cherished Board member and leader, who died on January 2nd, 2021. Mary Jo Shartsis, who was a litigation partner at Shartsis Friese for much of her career, was a force bringing vitality, energy, and vision to Legal Aid at Work and other institutions fortunate enough to have her involvement. … Continue reading “Mary Jo Shartsis, 1942-2021”