News Archive
Carole Vigne Joins LAS–ELC as Staff Attorney with Community Legal Services Program
We are pleased to announce Carole Vigne has returned to our organization as a Staff Attorney in the Community Legal Services Program. In her new role, Carole provides information, advice, and representation to workers on their employment rights, with a focus on wage and hour laws and unemployment insurance issues. She also trains and supervises legal advocates to represent clients at administrative wage claim settlement conferences and hearings and unemployment insurance appeals and engages in community outreach and education.
Carole was previously a Skadden Fellow with LAS–ELC’s National Origin, Immigration, and Language Rights Program, working to expand the rights of immigrant workers and serving San Francisco’s immigrant, limited-English-proficient, Latino workers through a Workers’ Rights Clinic. Carole continues to bring her commitment to and years of experience working with our client community, through internships at the East Bay Community Law Center, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, and Centro Legal de la Raza, to the legal advocates she trains and the clients she represents.
The Elizabeth J. Cabraser 2011 Summer Brown Bag Lectures in Public Interest Law
Bring your lunch and join us for the 29th season of talks on current legal and social issues. All sessions are approved for 1.5 hours of MCLE credit and are free and open to the public. For further information about Brown Bag Lectures, see the full lecture schedule or call (415) 864-8848.
Except where noted on the schedule, all lectures take place on Tuesdays 12:00 – 1:30 pm at our offices at 180 Montgomery Street (between Sutter and Bush), Suite 600, San Francisco. Map
LAS–ELC Welcomes New Director of External Relations & Development
We are pleased to announce that Christopher J. Herrera has joined the organization as our new Director of External Relations & Development. Christopher comes to the Society with 20 years of experience leading marketing and communication efforts in the civil rights and philanthropic community. He most recently spent eight years at Tides Foundation as the Director of Communications. Prior to that he was at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, ultimately serving as the Director of Public Education. He has also provided strategic consulting services for grassroots organizing groups, labor unions, environmental watchdog organizations and foundations.
A graduate of UCLA, Christopher is a Bay Area native. His experience with and knowledge of our community, along with his commitment passion for our mission, make him an excellent addition to our team.
Local American Constitution Society Honors LAS–ELC President Joan Messing Graff
In recognition for her tireless work on behalf of low-wage workers, Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center President Joan Graff has been named as the recipient of the 2011 Direct Service Award by the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society. Graff was given the award at the ACS’s 2nd Annual Gala on March 1 alongside two other honorees, Maggie Crosby, Staff Attorney at the ACLU of Northern California received the 2011 Impact Litigation Award, and Rachel Moran, Dean of UCLA Law School, received the 2011 Academic Award. Read more
LAS–ELC Welcomes New Members to Board
The LAS–ELC Board of Directors has elected the following new members for a two year term beginning January 1, 2011: Elizabeth Deeley of Kirkland & Ellis LLP; Joshua Konecky of Schneider Wallace Cottrell Brayton Konecky LLP; Stanley Saltzman of Marlin & Saltzman, LLP; Bruce Simon of Pearson, Simon, Warshaw & Penny, LLP; Michael Singer of Cohelan Khoury & Singer; and J. David Tate, General Attorney & Associate General Counsel, AT&T. Press Release
Gay and Lesbian Couples, State Workers, Win Key Legal Victory in CalPERS Insurance Discrimination Lawsuit
On January 18, 2011, the federal district court for the Northern District of California rejected the Obama Administration’s request that it dismiss a lawsuit brought by gay and lesbian state workers and their partners who were excluded from equal participation in CalPERS’s long-term care plan. The plaintiffs allege that the applicable federal laws—including the Defense of Marriage Act—are unconstitutional. The court cleared the way for the plaintiffs to proceed on their claims that the exclusion of gay and lesbian spouses and domestic partners from the CalPERS plan, at the directive of the federal government, violates the equal protection and due process guarantees of the U.S. Constitution. Read more Press Release
U.S. Supreme Court Lets Stand Order for New Trial in Language Rights Case
On Monday, January 10, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously let stand an appeals court decision in Rivera v. Nibco, a widely-watched civil rights case brought by LAS–ELC on behalf of 23 Latina and Southeast Asian workers who were discriminatorily fired by Nibco, Inc. because of their language and national origin. The appeals court ordered a new trial because Nibco had removed a prospective juror from the Rivera jury because she was Latina.
“We’re very gratified the Court saw no need to change the appeals court’s conclusion that Nibco excluded at least one prospective juror solely because of her race,” said LAS–ELC attorney Christopher Ho, lead counsel for the Rivera plaintiffs. “Now our clients will have an opportunity to put their case forward before a fairly chosen jury.” Read more
Supreme Court Rules Defendants with Limited English have Right to Interpreter
On November 22, the Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that defendants with limited English proficiency (LEP) have a constitutional right to court interpreters in criminal trials. The ruling came in a case in which the Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center, American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Georgia filed a friend-of-the-court brief asserting that denying LEP defendants interpreters violates the U.S. Constitution and federal civil rights laws, arguments which the court adopted in its opinion. This opinion will help ensure that LEP persons have meaningful access to justice. Read the Press Release or blog post by Ms. Ling’s attorney
Charlotte Noss joins LAS–ELC as a Skadden Fellow
Charlotte Noss has joined LAS–ELC as a Skadden Fellow, working in the Wage and Hour Program and the National Origin Project. Working closely with other community organizations, Charlotte will focus on defending the employment rights of low-wage immigrant workers. She will engage in outreach, education, advocacy and litigation to expand and implement legal strategies to combat wage theft faced by Bay Area workers. Charlotte received her J.D. in 2010 from Northeastern University School of Law, after spending five years community and union organizing in Boston. She obtained her B.S. in Environmental Forest Biology from the State University of New York–College of Environmental Science and Forestry in 2002.
Rachael Langston Becomes Staff Attorney
The LAS–ELC is very proud to announce that Rachael Langston has been promoted to the position of Staff Attorney in the Gender Equity and Disability Rights Programs. After receiving her J.D. from Berkeley Law in 2008 Rachael was awarded a prestigious two-year Skadden Fellowship to work with the LAS–ELC on a project to expand access to reasonable accommodation in the workplace for persons with disabilities as well as employees with caretaking obligations. Now as a Staff Attorney, Rachael will continue to bring her skill, energy, creativity, and empathy to make a critical difference in the ability of low-wage workers to sustain their employment and economic security.
LAS–ELC Staff Attorney Araceli Martínez-Olguín receives Henderson Social Justice Prize
LAS–ELC is extremely proud to announce that staff attorney Araceli Martínez-Olguín has been selected as the 2010 recipient of the Hon. Thelton E. Henderson Social Justice Prize. Established in 2006 and administered by the University of California, Berkeley Law School (Boalt Hall), the annual award honors a Berkeley Law graduate who “best exemplifies the intellectual rigor, integrity, courage and vision that are distinctive of the Honorable Thelton E. Henderson.” Read more
LAS–ELC welcomes its 2010 Summer Interns!
Left to right: Daniel Brome (UC–Berkeley), Anna Scholin (Stanford), Alexis Alvarez (UC–Davis), Meghan Loisel (NYU), Sarah Mercer (Santa Clara), Julia Parish (UC–Berkeley), Mia Munro (NYU), Jasmine Berndt (UC–Hastings), Linnea Nelson (NYU), Daniela Urban (UC–Berkeley).
Displaced Workers Sue NUMMI, Toyota Over Discrimination in Severance Package
A group of displaced Fremont NUMMI workers who were on medical or other leave during the last six months of the plant’s operation sued their former employer, and its parent company Toyota, alleging that the severance package offered by the auto giant discriminates against injured and disabled employees. The severance package included a bonus enhancement based on years of service. However, these workers were not entitled to the enhancement, no matter how long they had worked at the plant. Read more
LAS–ELC attorneys receive La Raza Award
La Raza Centro Legal, San Francisco’s oldest Latino community legal services organization, recently honored the LAS–ELC team that partnered with La Raza to litigate Serralta v. Khan to a successful conclusion. At La Raza’s 37th Anniversary Awards Celebration on Friday, May 14, LAS–ELC lead attorney Christopher Ho, along with former LAS–ELC attorneys Carole Vigne, Christina Chung, and Matt Goldberg, were cited for their “courageous advocacy for workers’ rights” in representing Vilma Serralta, a domestic worker who stood up against her wealthy employers to demand her rights under Federal and state wage and hour law.
Same-Sex Couples, State Workers, Sue IRS and CalPERS for Insurance Discrimination
The LAS–ELC has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of same-sex couples in California who are seeking equal access to California’s long-term care insurance program for public employees and their families. The named plaintiffs are three California state employees who work in public health care and their same-sex partners. Read more
Federal Appeals Court Orders A New Trial for Immigrant Women
In a stunning victory for the 23 Latina and Southeast Asian workers represented by LAS–ELC in the Rivera v. Nibco litigation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ordered a new trial in the case. The court ruled that Nibco used its “peremptory” strikes of prospective jurors for discriminatory purposes, removing at least one Latina juror on account of her ethnicity. Read more
Live-in Domestic Worker Wins Settlement in Federal Lawsuit Against Wealthy Peninsula Couple
For four years Vilma Serralta, a 71-year old immigrant from El Salvador, worked more than 80 hours a week as a live-in housekeeper and nanny in the nearly 10,000-square foot Atherton home of Silicon Valley entrepreneur Sakhawat Khan and his wife Roomy, a private investor. Read more
LAS–ELC Senior Staff Attorney Claudia Center Receives the ABA’s 2009 Paul G. Hearne Award for Disability Rights
The American Bar Association Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law awarded the 2009 Paul G. Hearne Award for Disability Rights to Claudia B. Center, Senior Staff Attorney for the Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center and head of its Disability Rights program.
The Hearne Award for Disability Rights is presented each year to an individual or organization that has performed exemplary service in furthering the rights, dignity and access to justice for some 54 million Americans with disabilities. Read more
LAS–ELC Bayview / Fillmore Employment Law Clinic To Open
The LAS–ELC is establishing a new employment law clinic for residents of San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point and Western Addition neighborhoods. The clinics will be housed in community centers in each location where attorneys and experts in employment law will conduct outreach in the community to target the most pressing needs of residents and will work with community partners to develop responsive educational programs such as workshops, trainings, and self-help guides. Read more