In The Media

Helen James's story about being kicked out of the Air Force in disgrace for being a lesbian during the Lavender Scare, and how she was finally able to obtain the honorable discharge she deserved just days short of her 91st birthday with the assistance of LAAW, is now on display at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum

“It’s about having a culture of wanting to help one another and valuing the employees you have, whatever their individual situations may be, and really having conversations about what people might need to fully participate and excel in the workplace.” - Rachael Langston

Staff attorney Marisa Díaz discusses LAAW's efforts, in conjunction with former Presidents of the California State Bar, retired judges, dozens of civil and immigrants’ rights groups, law professors, and many others to get California to adopt a statewide rule barring courthouse immigration arrests.

The Daily Journal (subscription required) discusses LAAW's Proposed Statewide rule to end courthouse immigration arrests in California and its impact on public safety and access to justice.

When men sue women’s empowerment organizations for gender discrimination. Is the law on their side? LAAW attorney Elizabeth Kristen emphatically says no: Targeting women’s empowerment events is an abuse of the law and part of the larger attack on the civil rights of vulnerable people that the Unruh Act was designed to protect, said Elizabeth Kristen, director of Gender Equity and LGBT Rights Program at Legal Aid at Work and an expert on gender discrimination. “They are using the Unruh Act as a sword.” And Kristen says not all of these lawsuits are the same.

On "Criminal," LAAW Client Helen James tells her story of joining the Air Force in the 1950's and getting discharged due to her sexual orientation, and how that crippled her throughout her life: "We were considered to be a threat to the security of the nation." More than 60 years later, and just shy of her 91st birthday, Helen finally received the honorable discharge she deserved after LAAW and co-counsel filed suit.

Elizabeth Kristen speaks to Law 360 as part of its annual glass ceiling report: "Gender parity success is inextricably linked to increasing overall diversity in our profession. We also need to address equal pay, paid leave and sexual harassment."

Katie Fiester of LAAW's Wage Protection Program was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, praising a new federal law allowing tips to be pooled between waiters and certain other restaurant staff in the “chain of service” (like cooks and bussers). “When it comes to tips, the more regulated they are and the more transparent they are, the better it is for the workers who earn them,” she said

Slate wrote a terrific article featuring Legal Aid at Work's cutting-edge medical-legal partnerships. We’re incredibly proud of the innovative work Sharon Terman, Julia Parish, Jenna Gerry, Katie Wutchiett, and our entire Work & Family team are doing every day!