Legal Aid at Work

?? Subcontracting chains are far too often used to shield companies from accountability and exploit our lowest-paid workers. Legal Aid at Work is suing to challenge these schemes and fight for janitors like Mr. Ceja Flores. ? Learn more: https://loom.ly/oLBDYOs #WageTheft #WorkersRights

Workers have a right to speak different languages instead of only English. We're currently representing a Latine U.S. Postal Service supervisor who, after being verbally and physically attacked by a supervisee who told him to stop speaking Spanish, stating that “this is America,” learned that his postal district had a speak-English only policy which had possibly emboldened his supervisee to chastise him. This created a hostile work environment which caused him to go out on medical leave due to the severe emotional stress and anxiety he continues to experience. If you're facing language discrimination, contact our Language Rights Helpline. Learn more: https://loom.ly/_4NQonY

We were thrilled to join our plaintiff-side peers at this year’s California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA) Conference this past weekend. Chris Ho, our National Origin and Immigrants’ Rights Program Director was among the conference moderators. Attendees included current and former LAAW clerks, Workers’ Rights Clinic students, and volunteer attorneys. We especially appreciated the shout-out given during the general session to our Work & Family Program for their contribution to family-friendly legislation enacted in 2024.

?? BREAKING ?? — Today, we filed a lawsuit alleging that Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc. (Bimbo) and several of its male employees are liable for sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and invasion of privacy. The lawsuit, brought on behalf of Joanna Palacios, a full-time driver and 9-year employee of the company, comes after years of systemic mistreatment in Bimbo’s deeply male-dominated Bakersfield distribution facility. Read our press release: https://loom.ly/A5x5R08

We're excited to welcome Cynthia Salazar to the team as our Temporary Central Valley Workers' Advocate! Cynthia (she/her/ella) is a recent graduate of UC Berkeley, where she received her Bachelor’s in Gender and Women’s Studies. She spent the majority of time while in school working in programs where she helped marginalized students through the entire application process, with a majority of the cohort of students getting into their dream schools. Cynthia was a board member for a Central American organization where she did PR & Marketing and did teach-ins on the Mayan destruction at UC Berkeley, Berkeley City College, and the Latinx Research Center. She has worked with asylum seekers by helping them fill out their I-589 forms. Prior to LAAW, Cynthia was a public policy fellow at Esperanza United, where she focused on ending gender-based violence with a queer lens and how to galvanize survivors to participate in the policy process. Through this work, she was able to present this work in Washington D.C., along with presenting this at the White House, where she met with the Gender Policy Council and the Domestic Policy Council.

We're excited to welcome Sam Aber to the team as our Wage Protection Program Staff Attorney! Sam (he/him) represents workers who have been subject to wage theft and misclassification and otherwise denied their rights to dignity, fair treatment, and a voice in their workplaces. Prior to joining Legal Aid at Work, Sam clerked for the Honorable Sarah E. Geraghty of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and the Honorable Charles R. Breyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. He has edited and written for the Law and Political Economy Blog and published scholarship in the American Journal of International Law. Sam received his J.D. in 2022 from Yale Law School, where he received the Ambrose Gherini Prize. He is admitted to practice in California and New York.

We're excited to welcome FAIR Fellow Victoria Chan to our Wage Protection and Work & Family programs! Victoria received her J.D., with Honors, from Golden Gate University (GGU) School of Law, where she was awarded the Academic Excellence in Labor and Employment Law Award. While in law school, Victoria served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Michelle Tong of the San Francisco Superior Court. Victoria also served as a law clerk with Levy Vinick Burrell Hyams LLP, GGU’s Women Employment Rights Clinic, and the California Labor Commissioner’s Office – Legal Unit. Prior to law school, Victoria was the Senior Community Advocate for the Workers’ Rights Program at the Asian Law Caucus, where she empowered and represented low-wage and immigrant workers.

We're excited to welcome Athena Arana to our National Origin and Immigrants' Rights program as our Equal Justice Works Fellow, sponsored by Fenwick & West. Athena (she/ella) will represent immigrant and undocumented workers in Napa and Sonoma counties, leveraging new federal and state programs to encourage undocumented workers to assert their rights. Prior to LAAW, she advocated for low-wage, immigrant women who had experienced sexual harassment, assault and/or labor trafficking in their workplaces. Athena is a recent graduate of UC Berkeley, School of Law. We are also incredibly grateful to Fenwick & West for making this fellowship possible!

?? BREAKING —LAAW has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Martin Ceja Flores, a janitor who, for the last 13 years, cleaned the San Jose headquarters of Molecular Devices, LLC six days a week while working for Crystal Janitorial Service, Inc. Mr. Ceja Flores was paid a flat rate of less than $2,000 a month—which is far less than what he’s owed under San Jose’s minimum wage law. When he needed to take a month off for eye surgery, he lost his job despite being entitled to job protection under the FMLA. Now, with LAAW’s help, Mr. Ceja Flores is seeking justice from Molecular Devices and Crystal Janitorial. Read more: https://loom.ly/_Tw09jo

We're excited to welcome Erica Zermeno to the team as our Temporary Intake Specialist! Erica Zermeno (she/her/ella) has dedicated her career to advocating for social and economic justice for low wage workers. She studied law and politics with an emphasis on Latin American politics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, then transferred to the UC Sacramento Program to begin her work as an advocate. At LAAW, she direct workers to the appropriate resources by serving the helplines. Erica is bilingual in English and Spanish. Prior to joining LAAW, Erica worked in a legal nonprofit where she developed programs to educate workers about their wage and hour rights and how to enforce them.