In The Media

Rachael Langston speaks to the Desert Sun about Amazon warehouse workers who are concerned about Covid-19 exposure on the job and what they can do to protect themselves: “If someone has an underlying condition that makes them especially wary of being at work, even if protection measures are there, they do have a right to ask for a reasonable accommodation” and not lose their job."

LAAW's Carole Vigne discusses administrative and technical struggles in California's recent program to provide a $500 one-time payment to undocumented immigrants in California. Legal Aid at Work, along with 100+ other organizations that make up the Safety Net for All Coalition, have led the way in pushing for a temporary income replacement program for undocumented workers. Fourteen legislators have signed on to support the inclusion of this initiative in the June budget, which would provide far greater support than offered by the current one-time payment program.

Kim Ouillette of the Wage Protection Program calls for additional funds for undocumented workers. Experts estimate that $125 million in relief funds announced in April are only enough to assist only 150,000 of the estimated 270,000 undocumented people who have lost work since the outbreak. She advocates for a supplemental program that would give $400 per week to undocumented individuals who have lost work during the crisis.

LAAW's Carole Vigne, director of the Wage Protection Program, answers a series of questions from the New York Times about the Employment Development Department's ability to disburse unemployment funds, how someone can check the status of an unemployment claim, Pandemic Unemployment Insurance, and much more.

Staff Attorney Rachael Langston speaks to MarketWatch about the availability of remote work for people with disabilities.

LAAW's Jenna Gerry, an attorney in the Work & Family program, talks about the difficulties filing for unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Carole Vigne discusses California's Employment Development Program (EDD), and its difficulties coping with unprecedented demand for Unemployment Insurance benefits during the COVID-19 crisis on KQED's "Forum."

Carole Vigne, staff attorney and director of LAAW's Wage Protection Program, talks to KTVU about unemployment eligibility for people serving overpayment penalties and the Employment Development Department's ability to process these claims.

LAAW's George Warner of the Wage Protection Program joined KPCC/LAist for a live virtual event to discuss filing for unemployment for self-employed Californians. California's Employment Development Department (EDD) began accepting unemployment claims from self-employed Californians, who wouldn't qualify for unemployment benefits.