Read about our recent work below.

Man posing posing holding his baby daughter

Governor Newsom’s Budget to Protect Workers from Being Fired when they Take Paid Family Leave

- January 10, 2020

Sacramento, CA (January 10, 2020). The Budget that Governor Newsom announced today includes crucial measures to protect Californians from being fired when they take time off from work to bond with a new child or take care of an ill family member.  This builds off the Governor’s important step last year of expanding the duration … Continue reading “Governor Newsom’s Budget to Protect Workers from Being Fired when they Take Paid Family Leave”

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Image of Katie Dixon in front of Legal Aid at Work Logo
Fair Chance Community Organizer Katie Dixon

LAAW Welcomes Fair Chance Community Organizer, Katie Dixon

January 9, 2020

Legal Aid at Work has some wonderful news to share!  This week, we welcome Katie Dixon to the organization.  Katie Dixon will be joining us as the Fair Chance Community Rights Organizer.  As such, she will engage in advocacy on behalf of and with formerly incarcerated job seekers across the state of California.  In California, … Continue reading “LAAW Welcomes Fair Chance Community Organizer, Katie Dixon”

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Fresno Bee Covers Lawsuit against Harris Ranch Beef Company for Firing Worker on Medical while Recovering from Cancer Treatments

Fresno Bee - January 8, 2020
As quoted in the story, the client had this to say about the lawsuit: “When Harris Ranch fired me, I felt like I had been thrown away like a used rag . . . . I sought legal help because I want Harris to respect my and other workers’ rights.”
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Fresno Beef Company Fires 20-Year Employee for Taking Leave for Cancer Treatment

- January 7, 2020

Fresno, CA (January 7, 2020).  A Tulare County woman filed a lawsuit against California’s largest beef producer—Harris Ranch Beef Company—for illegally firing her when she went on leave to undergo treatment for cancer. As alleged in the Complaint, Yolanda Alcala worked as a meat trimmer at Harris Ranch Beef Company in Fresno for over 20 … Continue reading “Fresno Beef Company Fires 20-Year Employee for Taking Leave for Cancer Treatment”

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Legal Aid at Work Client and Human Rights Activist Irene

Your Donation Will Help Labor Trafficking Survivors Like Irene

December 16, 2019

  Legal Aid at Work is the essential advocate for justice on the job for low-wage workers and their families.  We serve workers like Irene, a human rights activist who fell victim to labor trafficking when she fled from persecution from her home country. Upon arrival in California, she was forced to work more than … Continue reading “Your Donation Will Help Labor Trafficking Survivors Like Irene”

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Eater.com Discusses How Gig Economy Restaurant Staffing Apps may Contribute to Misclassification

Eater - December 12, 2019
LAAW’s Wage Protection Program Director, Carole Vigne, discusses in Eater.com how so-called "gig economy" staffing apps for the Restaurant industry may be contributing to misclassification of on-demand restaurant workers. “There’s no question that these workers who are going into restaurants, even on a part-time or temporary basis, are employees . . . the real question is who is the employer (the hiring app and/or the third-party business), and consequently, who is liable if workers are misclassified?”
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Elizabeth Kristen, Director of LAAW’s Gender Equity & LGBT Rights Program

Elizabeth Kristen Participates in Podcast Series on Sex Harassment

December 9, 2019

The Director of LAAW’s Gender Equity & LGBT Rights Program Elizabeth Kristen speaks with the Victims of Crime Resource Center at University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law about sex harassment, assault, and domestic violence for the podcast series “Knowledge Is Power: Victim to Survivor.”  The two-part podcast can be found at https://1800victims.org/podcasts/ as … Continue reading “Elizabeth Kristen Participates in Podcast Series on Sex Harassment”

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Hollywood producer and Valhalla Entertainment CEO, Gale Anne Hurd (The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, The Terminator, Aliens) with Legal Aid at Work President Joan Graff

Gale Anne Hurd, an Executive Producer of “The Walking Dead” Franchise, Underwrites New Fellowship Program for Legal Aid at Work

- November 12, 2019

LOS ANGELES, CA (November 12, 2019) – Hollywood producer and Valhalla Entertainment CEO, Gale Anne Hurd (The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, The Terminator, Aliens), announces that she is funding a public service legal Fellowship for the California-based nonprofit, Legal Aid at Work. The Hurd Fellowship, which will fund five fellows over the next … Continue reading “Gale Anne Hurd, an Executive Producer of “The Walking Dead” Franchise, Underwrites New Fellowship Program for Legal Aid at Work”

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Katie Fiester Discusses New Legislation (AB 673) Expanding the Rights of Workers to Obtain Penalties When They Are Not Paid on Time

Law 360 - September 11, 2019
Legal Aid at Work attorney Katie Fiester discusses the “huge step forward” that the newly passed bill (AB 673) is for workers. "This bill is really just a fix to remedy this issue and make sure that workers who are suffering the consequences of being paid late actually receive the penalty for it." The Bill now moves to Governor Newsom’s desk for his signature.
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