Jinny (she) leads the Disability Rights Program at Legal Aid at Work, where she represents clients seeking housing who are discriminated against by employers, educational institutions and public institutions. From 1999 to 2001, she joined Legal Aid at Work as a Félix Velarde-Muñoz Fellow and handled cases of race, disability, national origin and gender. She returned as a staff attorney in 2008 after working in Washington, D.C. and in private practice. Similarly, those with limited English proficiency face a variety of barriers in work environments where English is the predominant language, she added, while those working in rural areas may not have access to legal services that could help them. However, these concerns are not necessarily new to the EEOC. In its 2017-2021 SEP, the agency focused on “occupational segregation, harassment, human trafficking, compensation, retaliation, and other policies and practices against vulnerable workers, including immigrants and migrant workers, as well as those perceived to be members of these groups and members of underserved communities.” Elizabeth Kristen is the Director of our Gender Equality and LGBT Rights Program, where she represents low-wage workers who face discrimination and harassment based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, military or veteran status. As Director of our Fair Play for Girls in Sports project, she is involved in community building, negotiations, litigation and political work on behalf of schoolgirls who have not had the same sporting opportunities under Title IX. She and her co-counsel won a landmark Ninth District decision that enforces Title IX educational changes at a Southern California high school (Ollier v. Sweetwater). A combination of two or more of these factors should allow a worker case to weigh in favor of prioritizing the EEOC, Diaz said; “This is because the combination of these factors indicates a significant vulnerability to discrimination in the workplace and a particular need for strategic enforcement authority on the part of the agency. For example, immigrant agricultural workers in Washington state continue to deal with cases of sexual harassment and discrimination, according to Blanca Rodriguez, deputy director of advocacy at Columbia Legal Services.
Companies in this sector often contract with suppliers to provide training and deal with harassment complaints, but “what they do is not appropriate,” Rodriguez said. Immigrants of color are often unaware of their rights, said Marisa Diaz, senior counsel at the nonprofit Legal Aid at Work, which could mean unscrupulous employers are more likely to take advantage of them. Overrepresentation in low-paying jobs can put immigrant workers in a more precarious financial position if they simply miss a paycheck. Sharon has testified before Congress, the California legislature and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and is a member of Governor Newsom`s Task Force on Paid Family Leave. She co-founded a medical-legal partnership with the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital Women`s Clinic to educate low-income pregnant patients about workplace rights. Martorell said his work with Thai workers and other workers who identify as part of Asia-Pacific island communities has revealed experiences of human trafficking and “blatant forms of exploitation,” including minimum wages, lack of overtime pay and workplace hazards. Marisa Díaz defends and promotes the rights of low-wage workers and other workers who are discriminated against because of their national or ethnic origin. To do this, Marisa engages in impact litigation, community building, and policy work. Prior to joining Legal Aid at Work, Marisa was a fellow at Equal Rights Advocates, where she advocated for women facing gender discrimination in the workplace. Mike Gaitley (he/he) is a staff attorney in the Community Legal Services program, where he developed and promoted a model for providing free legal services through a workers` rights clinic that has been emulated by many legal organizations. As a member of our Work and Family and SURVIVE programs, Julia (she/she) supports the project`s hotlines and provides legal advice, rights workshops and direct legal advice to workers experiencing family and medical crises.
She also leads the Coalition for Healthy Mothers at Work, which includes many government and community partners. As Director of the LAAW National Origin and Immigrants` Rights Program, Chris (he/she) focuses on employment practices that disproportionately affect immigrants, linguistic minorities and others who experience discrimination because of their origins or family. In this work, he negotiated first-impression legal issues that led to court decisions that consolidated and expanded the protections of federal and California laws for these working-class communities. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission should consider the many barriers immigrant workers and people of color face when trying to correct discrimination and harassment in the workplace, witnesses said at the start of a virtual session Monday. Some of the most vulnerable workers are unaware of their rights or the existence of the commission, witnesses said Monday As Manager of Operations and Technology at Legal Aid at Work, Scott (he/she) is focused on optimizing our day-to-day office operations and technology to facilitate service delivery to our clients. He has been with the organization since 1999 and was previously a network administrator before assuming his current position. Scott was born in San Francisco and attended Archbishop Riordan High School and San Francisco State University. He is proud to bring his skills to the work of such an important institution in San Francisco as Legal Aid at Work. Steve (he/he) leads fundraising and development campaigns for Legal Aid at Work. He joined us in 2006 as coordinator of our $4 million campaign for the Justice Fund. He had worked for six non-profit organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area, including the Oakland East Bay Symphony, Shanti and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players.
Katie (she) is leading the implementation of our medical-legal partnership model in Contra Costa County. It provides free legal services, including representation and technical assistance, regarding the rights of survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, workers experiencing family and medical crises, pregnant workers, and new parents. Katie is also committed to expanding workers` rights, providing training on vacation rights, housing and wage replacement for health care providers, survivors and lawyers. These workers may also have less formal education than other U.S. workers. Workers, making it difficult for them to navigate the country`s legal system if they want to enforce their rights, Diaz added. If they try to assert these rights, migrant workers may face consequences that go beyond loss of wages. For example, these workers might not qualify for UI, Diaz said, and even those who do might fear accessing it. Stacy Villalobos (she/she/ella) is the Director of the Racial Economic Justice Program at Legal Aid at Work. She represents workers fighting racial discrimination in federal, state, and administrative courts. Stacy has litigation experience on a variety of employment issues, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wage theft. Stacy also leads the work of Ban the Box and Fair Chance at Legal Aid at Work, which represents job seekers with criminal records.
“If you have a CBO by your side because we`ve become the trusted voice, you`re going to gain that trust from [undocumented immigrants] and then they`ll find it more credible, have more trust and understand that their status wouldn`t matter if they came forward,” Martorell said.