Workers' rights
We support workers in asserting their rights against workplace abuse and exploitation.
Workplace abuse and exploitation can take many forms and is often devastating, particularly for workers earning a low wage. When an employer engages in wage theft, sexual harassment, refusal to accommodate a disability, retaliation for asserting basic rights, or other unfair and illegal treatment, the effects on workers can be disastrous, creating a crisis that has ripple effects throughout their lives.
Many workers earning a low wage—who may be immigrants, LGBTQ, and/or have disabilities—are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, often because they lack a meaningful safety net. Wage theft or job loss can quickly lead to debt, food insecurity, or loss of housing. All too often, workers do not come forward for fear of retaliation or because they are not sure where to go for help.
$100K
won for a victim of age discrimination
Services
Our lawyers represent workers facing wage theft, discrimination, retaliation, and other unfair treatment by their employers. NYLAG’s lawyers can help in the following ways:
- Representing workers with employment discrimination based on race, gender, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and other protected classes
- Representing workers who have been retaliated against for asserting their rights on the job
- Helping workers combat sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace
- Protecting workers’ rights to take Family Medical Leave, Paid Family Leave, and Paid Sick Leave
- Negotiating with employers to provide reasonable accommodations based on disability, pregnancy, and religion
- Recovering unpaid wages
- Contesting unfair denial of unemployment insurance benefits
Need free legal services or financial counseling?
Help us provide free legal services to workers getting low-wages.
NYLAG is part of the solution to combating workplace abuse and exploitation:
NYLAG Names Sirrah Harris as the First-ever Director of Outreach and Access to Justice Programs
We are proud to announce Sirrah Harris as our first-ever director of outreach and access to justice! Learn more about Sirrah’s impactful seven-year tenure at NYLAG and how her new role will advance our mission.
Amira Samuel Returns to NYLAG as New Director of Pro Bono & Volunteers
After an extensive search, NYLAG has named Amira Samuel as director of Pro Bono & Volunteers.
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