Strong Worker Advocacy
Workers need help to get the justice they deserve. We need both more advocates with the background and expertise to earn workers’ trust and get justice, and more support and new tools for workers who have to navigate the justice system alone.
Access to Justice
We need to make it easier for lawyers to get justice for more workers, but there will always be some workers for whom their claim is too small for a lawyer, legal aid may not provide help, and there is no class or mass action to join. For those workers, whether their wages have been stolen or they have been discriminated against, more support and more tools are needed so they can navigate the system on their own or with appropriate help from community-based workers who are not lawyers.
By The Numbers
Among 140 countries, the United States is ranked 115th in the affordability and accessibility of civil justice, and dead last among higher-income countries. (World Justice Project 2022)
Fewer than 1% of employees who perceive they were discriminated against file a charge with the EEOC, and only 15% of EEOC charges lead to the filing of a lawsuit. (American Bar Foundation 2017)
In recent years, workers have had to wait more than 500 days on average for their wage theft claims to be resolved by the California Labor Commissioner’s office. (CalMatters 2022)
Wage theft judgments are often difficult to collect. In fact, one study of California data indicated that only one in seven employers had paid in full five years after the judgment. (CalMatters 2022)
Advocates from Diverse Backgrounds
Lawyers who represent workers, particularly in matters like discrimination or wage theft against immigrant workers, need to be skilled at understanding their clients’ perspectives and earning their trust. To strengthen this important segment of the legal profession, we need more lawyers from diverse backgrounds in what has traditionally beenand sadly is still to a large extent—an overwhelmingly white and male profession of people from relatively privileged backgrounds.
The National Institute for Workers’ Rights will be partnering with the National Employment Lawyers Association and other organizations to make an impact on this critical issue.
Other Issues
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