In The Media

The Director of LAAW's Wage Protection Program Carole Vigne was quoted in the Guardian about the exploitation that foreign "cultural exchange" participants often experience: "the lack of government oversight, the age of participants as well as potential cultural and language barriers conspire to 'increase the vulnerability' of members of the Summer Work Travel program." 

LAAW's efforts to fight against unfair treatment of girls at Campbell High School in Hawaiʻi is covered by KITV. The lawsuit alleges that Hawaiʻi's Department of Education has committed multiple violations of federal civil rights law by denying girls at Campbell the same athletic opportunities, treatment, and benefits that it provides boys—such as providing fewer teams to girls, inferior locker room space, and subpar competition facilities. The lawsuit followed approximately ten months of attempts by the ACLU of Hawai‘i to get DOE to voluntarily improve the way it treats girls, as required by federal law.

LAAW's successful efforts to upgrade our client's military discharge to "honorable" status was profiled in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Mr. Henry had been kicked out of the Army in 1945 with a "blue discharge," which was used to deny minority service members (primarily African-Americans and Lesbian and Gay service members) their hard-earned benefits. "I’m still wondering if it’s a dream,” Henry said Tuesday in his Logan Square apartment. “I’m not sure how many more days I have left, but I may not ever get over it. It’s a great feeling.”

Staff attorney Stacy Villalobos's efforts to help workers obtain and retain employment regardless of criminal conviction history was profiled in the San Jose Mercury News. " Stacy . . . travels around the Bay Area holding training sessions to inform people with criminal records about their rights. When she asks in the sessions if the participants have encountered the kinds of questions the [ban the box] law was written to stop, she said, 'almost everyone in the room raises their hands.'”

The story discusses how our client, Nelson Henry, was kicked out of the Army in 1945 with a "blue discharge." Blue discharges were used to deny minority service members (primarily African-Americans and Lesbian and Gay service members) their hard-earned benefits after they had served this country so honorably.

Senior Staff Attorney Alexis Alvarez spoke with KSPC 88.7 about her disability rights work, and about the barriers and other issues that persons with disabilities face every day in the fight for equal treatment.

Legal Aid at Work and co-counsel Beth Mora's lawsuit against a San Leandro solar company that refused to work with customers of "Indian or Middle Eastern" descent was covered in the San Jose Mercury News. The story also discusses a parallel lawsuit against the company being brought by the EEOC regarding the same conduct.

The New York Times quotes attorney Katie Wutchiett regarding LAAW's partnership with the TIME'S UP Legal Defense Fund to end sexual harassment of low-wage workers.

The Gordo Taqueria case described in the article is one of several cases LAAW brought against high-profile restaurants in the Bay Area to raise awareness about the all-too-common problem of wage theft in the restaurant industry there, and to galvanize efforts to end it. The $690,000 settlement ensures that class members will get, on average, $2000, and over 40 workers will receive more than $5,000.