In The Media

"If the farmworkers win, it would 'send a message to business that creating corporate layers between workers and the businesses that profit from their work will not help companies evade liability' for employment law violations." — George Warner, Legal Aid at Work

With LAAW’s help, Maria Arroyo filed a wage theft claim with the California Labor Commissioner for $15,000 concerning her job at a Jack-In-The-Box in Oakland. After three and a half years, she still hasn't gotten a hearing or received a single penny, highlighting a wider issue on the extreme backlog of wage theft cases in the Labor Commissioner process.

Under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which will go into effect at the end of June, pregnant workers will have the right to reasonable accommodations like sitting on a stool or getting help with heavy lifting. In this HuffPost piece, Sharon Terman highlights the importance of pregnancy accommodations, which California law already requires, to allow pregnant workers to stay healthy and keep their jobs.

Among the new laws, Katie discussed SB 951, which will increase Disability and Paid Family Leave benefit rates to 90% of regular wages for middle and low-wage workers, which will especially help “Black, Latine, and female” low-wage Californians.”

In this Article, LAAW's Kim Ouillette discusses how workers can still assert their rights even without a written contract in the context of allegations by several artists that they faced exploitative conditions while working on-site for their employer in rural California.

“Generally, folks are very concerned about how they can make sure that they keep their jobs. They have a spouse who's facing a long term disability and will be out of work, they might be the sole source of income for their family for the first time, making it all that more important that they're able to keep their job." — Katherine Wutchiett

The article highlights a settlement between the Davis Youth Softball Association and the City of Davis, backed by Legal Aid at Work and the California Women Law Center. With the settlement, LAAW’s Elizabeth Kristen said, "They’re going to do everything, from things that seem small, like access to drinking water, to bigger improvements like dugout improvements, adding more shade and creating better storage.”

Ms. Zuniga filed a lawsuit after her co-driver sexually assaulted her. “I feel like I need to speak up for myself, and for my daughters, and show them we have to fight so this doesn’t keep happening to other women.”

The Article, which features quotes from LAAW’s Elizabeth Kristen, discusses how these girls had to “had to practice in the ocean, battling fickle winds and choppy waves because their high school had failed to provide them a pool.”