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About The Position
For nearly 20 years, the UFW Foundation has mobilized farm workers and their organizations across the country to advocate for more equitable policies, such as immigration reform, pesticide protections, heat standards, hazard pay, and other worker protections. We engage constituents in systemic change to break the cycle of poverty while also providing critical services. In fact, the UFW Foundation is one of the largest federally accredited immigration legal service providers in the state of California. The organization has staff in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New York, and Washington state.
The Workers’ Rights Supervising Attorney will lead and oversee the implementation of the UFW Foundation’s workers’ rights program. This position will be based in Bakersfield, CA, and is a full-time exempt position. The Supervising Attorney will lead the strategic development, launch, and management of a new program dedicated to educating, advocating for, and empowering workers. The Supervising Attorney will establish operational protocols, develop outreach strategies for low-wage or vulnerable workers, and build partnerships to address violations of wage theft, workplace health and safety, discrimination, and more.
Requirements
- Licensed attorney in good standing, with membership in California bar.
- Experience working with vulnerable populations.
- Demonstrated cultural competence and cross-cultural communication skills
- Ability to work both independently and under supervision.
- Ability to work flexible hours, including some evenings and weekends.
- Analytical and problem-solving abilities.
- Collaboration. Ability to work with teammates in a professional and solutions-oriented manner.
- Dedication to Mission. A genuine interest in immigrant and farm worker rights/workers’ rights.
- Demonstrated ability to work with a diverse group of people in various settings.
- Detail-oriented and strong writing and oral skills.
- Excellent interpersonal communication skills and ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in both Spanish and English. Bilingual (English and Spanish or English and indigenous language or English and other language as needed to meet communities’ needs).
- Si Se Puede® (It Can Be Done) Attitude. The embodiment of a personal spirit that promotes confidence, courage, and risk-taking.
- Ability to read, analyze, and interpret California and federal law, general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.
- Ability to write legal pleadings, reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.
- Requires the ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public.
- Ability to (1) calculate complex back-pay, unpaid overtime, minimum wage violations, meal/rest break penalties, and interest under state and federal law (FLSA, state labor codes); (2) compute rates, ratios, percentages, and proportions to determine monetary damages in individual and class action wage theft cases; (3) work with payroll records, timecards, and spreadsheets (e.g., MS Excel) to analyze data for trends, discrepancies, or violations; (4) calculate figures and amounts for grant deliverables, performance tracking, and financial reporting related to legal project funding; and (5) apply algebraic concepts to calculate damages or review complex formulas in employment agreements.
- Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
- Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
- Licensed attorney in good standing with admission to practice in California.
- Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) experience.
- Minimum three years of workers’ rights experience as an attorney.
- Valid driver’s license, access to an automobile, insurance, and willingness to drive to off-site locations.
Nice To Haves
- Five years of workers’ rights experience as an attorney working with immigrants, farm workers, and vulnerable communities.
Responsibilities
- Oversee a docket of cases, including individual actions, class actions, and amicus briefs to enforce labor standards.
- Assess clients’ needs and determine eligibility for available services.
- Conduct intake interviews of individuals seeking assistance.
- Provide clients with a clear analysis of their cases, available relief options, and next steps.
- Develop “know your rights” materials and conduct outreach, workshops, and legal clinics to inform workers and community organizations about labor laws.
- Provide direct legal representation or advice to clients on issues including wage theft, workplace retaliation, misclassification of employees, and sexual harassment.
- Represent individual workers in administrative proceedings (wage claims, unemployment, OSHA, retaliation, etc.) and in state/federal court.
- Provide zealous representation, conduct legal research, and formulate legal strategy.
- Work diligently to file cases and maintain accurate, timely, and detailed case data in our case management system.
- Track and report data on program deliverables to funders, assist in grant reporting, and maintain case management records.
- Support the UFW Foundation’s fundraising goals.
- Assist with analyzing local, state, and federal legislation to strengthen worker protections and engage with government agencies to improve enforcement policies.
- Identify systemic violations to develop impact litigation, class actions, and policy initiatives to improve workplace standards.
- Investigates employer policies and practices that violate workplace protections, including safety, health, or wage laws.
- Strengthen relationships with grassroots organizations, worker centers, and other nonprofit partners.
- Recruit, train, and mentor volunteer attorneys, students, or interns to handle cases.
- Manage the day-to-day operations of the Workers’ Rights Program, including workers’ rights helplines, clinics, or advocacy projects, ensuring case management systems are organized, data tracking is accurate for grant reporting, and supervising support staff and volunteers, as well as attorneys, as the program grows.
- Provide training and technical assistance to UFW Foundation staff, interns, fellows, volunteers, and partner organizations.
- Domestic travel within and outside the incumbent’s home state is required.
- Regular travel to necessary court hearings, UFW Foundation offices, and trainings.
- Other tasks as needed.
- May involve the coordination and supervision of volunteers, interns, and/or fellows.
- Training and supervision of attorneys, legal assistants, service providers, and others.
Benefits
- Accruals of 2, 3, and 4 vacation weeks per year depending on tenure
- 16 paid holidays (includes a personal day)
- 1 mental health day per calendar year
- Paid sick days
- Health, dental, and vision benefits
- Life insurance
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Employee Assistance Program for support with personal and work-related challenges
- 403(b) retirement plan with 2% employer match (providing employee meets criteria)
- 401(k) retirement plan with no employer match (providing employee meets criteria)
- Employer-sponsored pension plan
- Supplemental insurance (within 30 days of hire date)
- Professional development opportunities and access to thousands of courses
- 20% discount for immigration services through the UFW Foundation
- Many discounts, such as entertainment discounts for movie theaters, theme parks, etc. via ADP Lifemart, TicketsatWork, and UnionPlus
