New law clinic for low-wage workers to open in Antioch Tuesday
Legal Aid at Work and Grace Bible Fellowship of Antioch team up to provide free legal services in Contra Costa County
Legal Aid at Work and Grace Bible Fellowship of Antioch are pleased to announce the launch of Legal Aid at Work’s newest location of the Workers’ Rights Clinic, devoted to employment law protections for all low-income workers. The clinic will launch on May 25, 2021, providing over-the-phone consultations. Thereafter, the clinic will operate every fourth Tuesday of the month. The Clinic will add in-person services, located at 3415 Oakley Road in Antioch. It will operate in accordance with state and local guidance related to COVID-19. People in need of assistance may call (925) 522-2017 to make an appointment.
“Antioch is one of the largest cities in Contra Costa County and has one of the highest populations of low-income, Black workers in California,” said DeCarol Davis, Legal Aid at Work’s Director of Community Legal Services. “It has gone unseen and underserved for too long. We are trying to change that.”
Grace Bible Fellowship and Legal Aid at Work, two well-respected, service-driven institutions, open the clinic to provide free and confidential legal assistance to low-wage workers who are subjected to illegal practices on the job.
The clinic will help workers with problems such as minimum wage and overtime violations, failure to pay for work performed, or refusal to grant meal and rest breaks. The clinic will also provide counsel to clients regarding workplace discrimination based upon race, national origin, gender, pregnancy, disability, language proficiency and immigration status, and will offer information regarding unemployment compensation filings and appeals. Finally, the clinic will handle inquiries from employees affected by the COVID-19 pandemic at their workplace.
The institutions that have joined to make this new clinic possible are each committed to providing access to justice to those who are least able to secure it. Grace Bible Fellowship of Antioch, a historically Black church, is a central institution in the Antioch community, providing a safe space for community members to gather in fellowship. Through its 27-need-based programs and ministries, the church has served a key role in enriching the Antioch community and providing resources for families to thrive.
“I am glad Grace Bible Fellowship of Antioch has the opportunity to partner with Legal Aid and their team of attorneys,” said Pastor Kirkland Smith. “Our community-based focus, and their heart for the least of these is a perfect match for our community residents.”
Legal Aid at Work has represented low-income workers with employment law problems for nearly 50 years, relying on law students and volunteer supervising attorneys who practice in the field of employment law to deliver expert guidance and advice to clients. This is the first time the collaborative model used for Legal Aid at Work’s Clinic will be employed in Contra Costa County.
The new Antioch location of the Workers’ Rights Clinic was made possible by the generous support of the Arthur and Charlotte Zitrin Foundation.
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GBFoA & LAaW
