Newsletter Summer 2022

Hai Dao JD ’14

We salute our 2021-2022 Workers’ Rights Volunteers:

Community Education and Outreach

Workers’ Rights community education and outreach efforts target vulnerable worker populations throughout Santa Clara County. Outreach may be conducted in-person, via email, virtual, or other electronic means and is meant to reach and effectively communicate with target vulnerable worker populations. Targets include day worker centers, adult education programs, trades and workers centers, community service centers, Veterans centers, re-entry centers, community colleges, and places of worship, to name a few. Ruth Silver Taube conducts training for community organizations in diverse communities, county employees, transit employees, domestic violence and human trafficking service providers, nonprofit legal service providers, and foster youth. Additionally, the Law Center is involved in collaborative efforts to advance policies for workers at the local and state level.

Interviewing, Advising, and Mediation Clinic

On each Tuesday evening, students taking our Workers’ Rights Interviewing, Advising, and Mediation Clinic, gather to provide free legal services to individuals with problems in the workplace such as wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, unpaid wages, and failure to pay overtime. Our law students help give voice to those intimidated by the legal system and in many cases, reach amicable solutions with employers. Thursday evenings are dedicated to law student education and training to better equip them in identifying the client’s legal issues.

Leah Lambert ’23

“Working at the Law Center was most fulfilling and allowed me to take the knowledge and skills I’ve learned as a law student and apply them to real-world experiences helping workers advance their rights.”
Leah Lambert ’23

Direct Representation and Referrals

Through our intake process at the advice clinics, we are able to identify matters that the Law Center may choose to handle as well as those cases that a plaintiff’s attorney might be interested in handling through guided referrals, such as class action matters.

The Law Center also helps advance rights with employers who are retaliatory, threatening, and unscrupulous. Two such recent cases are described below:

One matter involved a care home worker. Ms. Q was paid a daily rate which was less than minimum wage and was not compensated for all the hours she worked. Ms. Q was the only person on duty 5 days a week and cared for several patients. She came to the Law Center’s Workers’ Rights Clinic seeking help because she believed that her pay didn’t seem right. After the Law Center interviewed her and gathered information, we believed that there were numerous Labor Code violations and that the complexity of the matter meant the worker would have difficulty pursuing the case on her own. Thus, the Law Center made a guided referral to an attorney, which proved advantageous for Ms. Q. The case ultimately settled for well over 6 figures.

Mr. Y was a hotel worker. When he complained of unpaid wages he was terminated. The Law Center filed a claim for wages and retaliation at the Labor Commission. The retaliation unit found cause and determined that the hotel owed Mr. Y over $35,000 in back wages and penalties. Additionally, the client succeeded in his wage claim and a civil judgment was entered in his favor for over $26,000. The Law Center is co-counseling with an attorney at the Labor Commission in a case filed in Superior Court to enforce the judgment and ensure Mr. Y obtains the wages and penalties owed.

The Law Center had its genesis in 1993 assisting day laborers collect wages they were owed. As you can see, today, the Workers’ Rights practice is a highly successful program that assists low wage workers in every industry, contributes to policy efforts, and vindicates workplace rights, when needed. As important, our efforts provide law students with a social justice lens that they take with them into their legal careers.

WELCOME SYLVIA VIZCARDO SANCHEZ 2022 CINDY AVITIA IMMIGRATION JUSTICE SUMMER FELLOW!

The La Raza Lawyers of Santa Clara County Charitable Foundation (Foundation) and the Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center are pleased to announce Sylvia Vizcardo Sanchez as the 2022 Cindy Avitia Immigration Justice Summer Fellow. The award recipient receives a $7,500 grant from the Foundation to volunteer full-time for approximately 10 weeks at the Law Center this summer. The goal of the Fellowship is to provide and expand legal assistance, education, and outreach for immigrant communities.

“Growing up in a Latinx immigrant family, I have always known that I wanted to give back to my community. My parents struggled in this country to provide our family with a better life, and they taught me the value of generosity, hard work, and compassion. Their long and difficult journey to obtain U.S. citizenship made me realize the importance of making legal resources accessible, particularly to those with low-income and language barriers. As an aspiring attorney, my dream is to use my knowledge and resources to give back to the immigrant and Latinx community. Through the Law Center clinics, I have been able to provide legal services to underserved populations and it has been the highlight of my law school experience. It is my privilege to provide legal assistance with patience and kindness, and I especially enjoy assisting the Spanish-speaking community. I am so grateful to the La Raza Lawyers of Santa Clara County Charitable Foundation for the opportunity to follow in Cindy Avitia’s footsteps and continue working with the Law Center this summer.”

We are delighted to have Sylvia join the office for the summer and the resulting expanded service in community.

The fellowship is named in memory of Cindy Avitia ’06, a long-time member of Santa Clara County La Raza Lawyers Association, graduate of Santa Clara Law, passionate advocate for immigrant rights, and former employee of the Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center. The Law Center is grateful to the La Raza Lawyers of Santa Clara County Charitable Foundation for making this grant possible.

Contact Deborah Moss-West JD ’94, dmosswest@scu.edu if you’d like to support a summer fellow in our office.

SAVE THE DATE – ANNUAL CELEBRATION, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28th, 5:30 pm

Each year, the Law Center holds an event to Celebrate the community, commitment, and courage awardees, while also recognizes those who make our work possible. Please save-the-date and watch your email for details on how we will commemorate another year of teaching and service this fall.

YOUR VOLUNTEER AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT WILL HELP KGACLC:

• Stay at the forefront of social justice issues, serving as a thought leader, consistent provider of legal services for low-income communities, and skill-builder for law students, in line with the University’s Jesuit values.
• Facilitate educational opportunities and job prospects for Law Center students through mentoring.
• Launch a one-year fellowship program for graduating Law Center alumni to continue their work and commitment to social justice.

Interested in volunteering or joining our Advisory Board? Contact Deborah Moss-West or Board Chair Delma Locke to learn more. We would like to hear from you.

Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center
1030 The Alameda
San Jose, CA 95126

Phone: (408) 288-7030 | Fax: (408) 288-3581

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