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CRLAF is a privately funded rural justice center focused serving farmworkers and low-wage laborers, regardless of immigration status. California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation FARM WORKER RIGHTS. HUMAN RIGHTS. Please consider CRLAF for your Year End Giving This holiday season , please stand with us to ensure that the workers who feed our nation are respected and protected. Your support makes it possible for our lawyers, policy and community advocates, and community leaders to do the critical work to represent farmworkers to face harmful and quickly changing immigration policies, challenge unlawful workplace abuses, and confront sexual harassment and discrimination. CRLAF's work is more urgent and essential than ever. Yet, we are facing an alarming decline in funding for our free and high quality legal services, legislative and policy advocacy, community education, and leadership development in underserved and underrepresented rural communities. Every case we take, every law we help pass and strengthen, and every family we support is made possible through your collective generosity. Whether you give, share this message, or encourage others to get involved, you are part of this movement. We are in this together. Juntos, podemos. Donate today and help us continue fighting for justice in the fields, in the legislature, and in our communities. Donate TODAY Red Cards Download Cards Here Supportive Resources Haga clic para recursos sobre "Conozca sus derechos" Farmworker + Immigrant Rights We are the sons and daughters of farmworkers. We believe justice and dignity are inalienable human rights, and fight for greater access for migrant farmworker and immigrant communities across the state. Read More > Press Release on Incoming Administration While many of the serious problems clients faced in the previous Trump administration may reoccur; CRLAF stands firmly with rural residents, partner organizations, legal aid providers, and other advocates to fight for family unity, justice and equity. Read More > Governor signs CRLAF’s AB 636 CRLAF celebrates the passing of its sponsored AB 636 (Kalra) and landmark legislation, creating a comprehensive legal rights disclosure notice for H-2A farmworkers in California, expanding critical information and awareness. Read More > See More News

¡Luchando por Justicia! DATE + LOCATION Friday, September 29, 2023 | 5:30 - 8:30 PM California Muse um 1020 O St. Sacramento CA, 95814 REGISTRATION NOW CLOSED Please contact Rebekah Sophia (rsophia@crlaf.org ) or Amagda Pérez to be added to the guest list. E VENT DETAILS Please join us in celebrating California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation at this fall’s Luchando Por Justicia! Luchando por Justicia brings together and pays tribute to individuals and organizations committed to hel ping rural Californians gain access to healthcare, safer and healthier neighborhoods and workplaces, educational opportunities, quality immigration and naturalization services, workers’ rights, and other essential legal services. This year, we have the honor and privilege of recognizing education equity and racial justice attorney, Deborah Escobedo, and Vice Mayor for the City Sacramento, Councilmember Eric Guerra! Farm to table dinner presented by Chef Ramiro Alarcón of Cielito Lindo, with hosted bar , music by Rondalla Group, Sacramento Voces Románticas, and dance performance by Kalpulli Maquilli Tonatiuh. Individual tickets, ad forms for our program, and event sponsorship may be purchased at the "Register Here" link above. We thank you once again for your continued interest and dedication to our cause in supporting farmworkers and migrant families across the state of California. You're invited to California Rural Legal Foundation's Luchando por Justicia event!

Free legal assistance with DACA renewals for rural California resdents DACA: Asistencia legal gratuita Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia El programa de Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia, o DACA, permite a los inmigrantes elegibles que ingresaron al país a una edad temprana sin estatus para solicitar permisos de trabajo y aplazamientos temporales de deportaciones. Hay aproximadamente 800,000 receptores de DACA; 1 de cada 4 receptores de DACA vive en comunidades rurales. Aunque no es un camino hacia el estatus legal permanente o la ciudadanía, DACA ofrece una oportunidad para que los jóvenes indocumentados salgan de las sombras, se esfuercen por alcanzar sus sueños y aumenten sus contribuciones a la vitalidad social y económica de nuestra sociedad. CRLAF ofrece asistencia legal gratuita con las renovaciones de DACA y también ofrece talleres críticos Conozca sus derechos a los campus universitarios y organizaciones comunitarias en toda la zona rural de California. Para obtener más información sobre los próximos talleres, cómo programar una cita y sobre las becas para las tarifas de renovación de DACA, consulte nuestras publicaciones recientes a continuación. Para hablar con un miembro del equipo, llame al 916-446-7901. Aún no hay ninguna entrada publicada en este idioma Una vez que se publiquen entradas, las verás aquí.

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Community resources including basic know your rights information for immgrant families, family emergency planning guides, and instructions on reporting attorneys who have committed fraud or those who are unlawfully giving legal advice. INTERNAL RESOURCES Resources to be shared internally or with community partners. Community Resources To be shared with partners Noe's Letter - OCPSC Google Form OCPSC Support Letter Support for the Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications in the January 2025 Budget in the Amount of $25 million to grant to CBOs. Solicitar Asilo en EU Cortes en Sacramento (Stanford Law School, 2022) Solicitar Asilo en EU Cortes de San Francisco (Stanford Law School, 2022) Immigration Court Proceedings (En Inglés y Español) - (2022)

ACERCA DE CRLAF At California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, we are committed to ensuring that our website, www.crlaf.org , is accessible to all individuals. We strive to adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards to provide an inclusive online experience for all users. Accessibility Features Alternative Text: We provide alternative text for all images on our website to ensure they are accessible to screen readers and other assistive technologies. Keyboard Navigation: Our website can be navigated using only a keyboard, allowing users who cannot use a mouse or touchpad to access all content and features. Clear Structure and Headings: We use appropriate headings and structure to ensure that content is organized and easily navigable by screen readers and individuals using assistive technologies. Accessible Forms: We ensure that all forms on our website are accessible and usable by individuals with disabilities, including those using screen readers or other assistive technologies. Color Contrast: We maintain sufficient color contrast between text and background elements to ensure readability for individuals with low vision or color blindness. Video Captioning: Any video content on our website is provided with captions to ensure that individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing can access the information presented. Accessible PDFs: Wherever possible, we provide accessible PDF documents that are compatible with screen readers and other assistive technologies. Feedback We are continuously working to improve the accessibility of our website. If you encounter any accessibility barriers or have suggestions for improvement, please contact our Administration Specialist, Claudia Guzman Bogusz at: Phone: (916) 446-7904, ext. 132 E-mail: cguzman@crlaf.org Visitor Address: 2210 K Street, Suite 201, Sacramento, CA 95816. Accessibility Standards Compliance While we make every effort to adhere to the WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards, we acknowledge that achieving full accessibility may be an ongoing process. We are committed to regularly reviewing and updating our website to ensure that it remains accessible to all users. Date of Last Revision This accessibility statement was last updated on March 25th, 2024.

ABOGACIA LEGISLATIVA Una voz para los trabajadores y familias de bajos salarios en el capitolio estatal Fue a fines de la década de 1970 y el comienzo de la escuela se pospuso continuamente para que los niños trabajadores agrícolas pudieran estar en los campos para la cosecha en lugar de estar en clase. Un grupo de defensores llevó al distrito escolar a los tribunales alegando que la práctica era ilegal. Ellos ganaron Lo que sucedió después es la razón por la cual existe CRLAF: en lugar de cumplir con la ley, la junta escolar, compuesta por empresarios políticamente poderosos, cambió la ley para proteger sus intereses comerciales. Desde ese momento nació CRLAF. Nuestros defensores representan a trabajadores agrícolas y trabajadores de bajos salarios en todo California. Nuestros defensores legislativos participan en investigaciones orientadas a políticas y encuestas de campo de trabajadores agrícolas; llevar a cabo actividades de promoción legislativa y administrativa en las áreas de salario y hora, seguro de desempleo y derecho de los trabajadores agrícolas, tanto a nivel estatal como federal, y brinda capacitación, asistencia técnica y apoyo de defensa a los programas de servicios legales de California. Los principales objetivos del proyecto son: Ampliar las leyes laborales estatales que afectan los derechos de los trabajadores agrícolas y otros trabajadores de bajos salarios. Para mejorar y reformar los esfuerzos estatales de aplicación de la ley laboral, particularmente en la economía sumergida Asumir un papel de liderazgo al oponerse a los esfuerzos legislativos o reglamentarios para debilitar los derechos laborales nuevos o existentes que afectan a los trabajadores de bajos salarios, y especialmente a los trabajadores agrícolas y sus familias. Para llevar a cabo investigaciones relacionadas con políticas públicas y legales, educación y esfuerzos de medios Iniciar la capacitación de defensores, abogados y personal de agencias sobre las leyes laborales patrocinadas por la Fundación CRLA. Para monitorear las admisiones de trabajadores invitados en California bajo el programa federal H-2A Para participar en los esfuerzos nacionales de promoción en torno a los programas de trabajadores invitados y la legalización de los trabajadores agrícolas. Las actividades no relacionadas con el cabildeo del proyecto son, y han sido durante muchos años, generosamente apoyadas por la Fundación Rosenberg. El Proyecto de Derecho Laboral y Laboral está dirigido por el Director Adjunto y Director Legislativo de CRLAF, Mark Schacht. Un veterano de 25 años de Capitol Hill y Sacramento con una larga trayectoria de exitosa defensa legislativa y regulatoria en nombre de los trabajadores inmigrantes de bajos salarios, y en particular los trabajadores agrícolas. email@markschacht.com o 510-812-5399 Un historial de éxitos CRLAF patrocinó, copatrocinó o jugó un papel decisivo en la aprobación de los siguientes proyectos de ley, incluida la Ley General de Abogados Privados del Código Laboral (PAGA) . Esta legislación histórica crea un derecho privado de acción para hacer cumplir las disposiciones de la ley laboral de California previamente reservadas para su aplicación únicamente por el estado. CRLAF escribió el primer borrador y copatrocinó el proyecto de ley original (SB 796) con la Federación Laboral de California, AFL-CIO. Los empleadores inmediatamente hicieron grandes esfuerzos para derogar por completo PAGA una vez que entró en vigencia. Este esfuerzo alimentó un estancamiento presupuestario que solo se resolvió después de extensas negociaciones que condujeron a la promulgación de un proyecto de ley posterior (SB 1809) que preservó el impulso de PAGA, al tiempo que requirió agotamiento administrativo antes de que se otorgara el derecho a demandar. [ Texto de Bill capitulado de SB 796 . Historia legislativa completa de SB 796 . Texto de Bill capitulado de SB 1809 . Historia legislativa completa de SB 1809. ] Current Work Aún no hay ninguna entrada publicada en este idioma Una vez que se publiquen entradas, las verás aquí. 2015 Combating Wage Theft -- AB970 CRLAF was the sponsor of AB 970 (Nazarian), which closed gaps in the Labor Commissioner’s legal authority that precluded her from issuing citations to employers for two increasingly common underground economy wage theft violations: illegal deductions made from workers’ wages for tools or equipment, and payment of sub-minimum wages below levels mandated by applicable local ‘living wage’ laws. Not only has AB 970 increased the likelihood that more workers victimized by unscrupulous employers will actually recover their stolen wages as a result of a Labor Commissioner workforce-wide investigation and citation process for these two violations, but AB 970 will also reduces state costs associated with the remedying of these violations through individual Berman hearings or civil lawsuits. [Chaptered Bill Text . Legislative History .] 2014 Preventing Sexual Harassment -- SB 1087 SB 1087 attacks a widespread culture of sexual harassment of farm worker women by FLCs and their supervisors through a combination of mandatory annual sexual harassment prevention training and testing of licensees; annual training of their supervisors; and by training of farm workers in how to prevent, identify and report sexual harassment. The bill also makes more than a dozen other needed changes to the state Farm Labor Contractor Act, including authorizing the Labor Commissioner to take adverse license actions against sexual predators. [Chaptered Bill Text . Complete Legislative History.] Penalties for Employers' Failure to Pay Wages on Time -- AB 1723 AB 1723 requires the Labor Commissioner, when she cites for a minimum wage violation, to also determine whether workers are owed ‘waiting time’ penalties for an employer’s failure to pay all wages when due. The bill has major financial implications for farm workers and other low wage workers, whose unpaid minimum wages are often far less than any applicable ‘waiting time’ penalties. [Chaptered Bill Text . Complete Legislative History .] Joint + Several Liability for Wage Theft --AB 1897 AB 1897 makes most California employers (including growers) jointly and severally liable for their labor contractors’ wage theft and worker’s compensation violations for the first time under California law. (CRLA Foundation has unsuccessfully pursued similar legislation in the past that would have applied only to growers and their FLCs.) AB 1897 was sponsored by the state Labor Federation, the Teamsters, and the UFCW. CRLA Foundation was a significant partner in testimony before key committees, and in lobbying for passage and a signature for the bill. [Chaptered Bill Text . Complete Legislative History .] 2013 Successorship Liability for Wage Theft -- SB168 SB 168 dramatically revises successorship liability law to greatly strengthen legal protections for farm workers against Farm Labor Contractors’ wage theft, which is often committed as part of a fraudulent shutdown of their contracting business. [Chaptered Bill Text and complete Legislative History .] Immediate Recovery of Unpaid Minimum Wages -- AB 442 AB 442 requires the Labor Commissioner, when she issues a citation for a minimum wage violation, to also recover liquidated damages for victimized workers in an amount equal to the total amount of their unpaid minimum wages. This is another bill which puts money directly in the pockets of aggrieved low wage workers victimized by wage theft. [Chaptered Bill Text . Complete Legislative History .] Mandated Heat Stress Recovery Period -- SB 435 SB 435 expands protections for California workers in five outside industries who request, but are denied, heat stress-related cool down ‘recovery periods’. SB 435 generally treats heat stress-related cool down recovery periods the same way daily rest periods are treated under the Labor Code: Employers in the five covered outside industries would be prohibited from requiring workers to perform any work during any heat stress recovery period and, if the employer failed to provide such a recovery period upon a worker’s request, the employer would have to pay the employee one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate of compensation for each work day that a recovery period was not provided. Workers could pursue these claims either in court or in an administrative wage claim hearing. [Chaptered Bill Text . Complete Legislative History .] Criminal Penalties for Withholdings Theft with PAGA Enforcement -- SB 390 SB 390 creates new Labor Code criminal penalties on employers who deduct, and then steal, workers’ paycheck withholdings, and also creates for the first time in state law a state cause of action (under the PAGA, discussed below) to attack this kind of unscrupulous employer conduct. [Chaptered Bill Text . Complete Legislative History .] 2012 License Requirement for Farm Labor Contractor, PAGA Enforcement Option -- AB 1675 AB 1675 imposes stiff civil penalties on persons who operate as a farm labor contractor without first securing an FLC license. Farm workers aggrieved by actions of an unlicensed farm labor contractor can collect penalties in a PAGA civil law suit, provided the State of California does not pursue the violation itself.[Chaptered Bill Text .] Right to Employment Records Upon Request -- AB 2674 AB 1675 imposes stiff civil penalties on persons who operate as a farm labor contractor without first securing an FLC license. Farm workers aggrieved by actions of an unlicensed farm labor contractor can collect penalties in a PAGA civil law suit, provided the State of California does not pursue the violation itself.[ Chaptered Bill Text .AB 2674 requires employers, for the first time under California law, to provide current and former employees, or their representatives, with a copy of their employment-related personnel records, which are often a vital first step in determining the merits of a worker’s claim of retaliation. This bill was vetoed once before, and represents a victory for worker advocates ‘staying the course’ to get relief in this important area. [Chaptered Bill Text .] Guidance in Defining "suffers injury" for Employer's Failure to Provide Itemized Pay Stubs -- SB 1255 SB 1255 resolved longstanding conflicts over whether a worker “suffers injury” when an employer fails to provide him or her with a complete and accurate itemized pay statement as required by state law. CRLAF negotiated a compromise with trial lawyers, unions, and business interests which provides the courts with a better roadmap in how to interpret employer violations of these critical worker protections in the future. [Chaptered Bill Text . Complete Legislative History .] 2011 Itemized Wage Statements Required -- AB 243 AB 243 enacted over the strong opposition of California agriculture, requires farm labor contractors to provide their farm worker employees with an itemized wage statement which discloses all of the names and addresses of every entity (i.e., growers or other FLCs) to whom the farm worker was supplied during the pay period. [Chaptered Bill Text .] Berman Hearings Available for Minimum Wage Violations -- AB 240 AB 240 requires the state labor commissioner to allow workers not paid the minimum wage to recovery minimum wage liquidated damages in a Berman administrative wage claim hearing, which parallels rights they have if they pursue such a claim in a civil action. This is a critical advance for low wage workers whose only avenue to redress wage theft is a Berman hearing (because their individual wage claim is too small to be taken by a private attorney or a legal services law firm). [Chaptered Bill Text .] Omnibus Wage Theft Statute -- AB 469 AB 469 enacted an omnibus wage theft statute with many new Labor Code protections aimed particularly at vulnerable low wage immigrant workers laboring in the underground economy; CRLA Foundation wrote first draft and co-sponsored the bill with the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO. [Chaptered Bill Text .] Additional Noteworthy CRLAF Sponsored Legislation Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) -- SB 796 and SB 1809 Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) This landmark legislation creates a private right of action to enforce California labor law provisions previously reserved for enforcement solely by the state. CRLA Foundation wrote the first draft and co-sponsored the original bill (SB 796) with the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO. Employers immediately made strenuous efforts to completely repeal the PAGA once it took effect. This effort fueled a budget stalemate that was only resolved after extensive negotiations led to enactment of a subsequent bill (SB 1809) which preserved the thrust of PAGA, while requiring administrative exhaustion before a right to sue would vest. [Chaptered Bill Text of SB 796 . Complete Legislative History of SB 796. Chaptered Bill Text of SB 1809 . Complete Legislative History of SB 1809 .] PAGA Financial Responsible Labor Contractor -- SB 179 The Financially Responsible Labor Contractor Act (SB 179) This groundbreaking statute, opposed by dozens of employer groups in the Legislature, makes entities liable when they knowingly entered into a financially insufficient contract for labor or services in five underground economy industries. CRLA Foundation wrote first draft and co-sponsored the bill with the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO. A prior version was vetoed. [Chaptered Bill Text . Complete Legislative History .]

CONSIGUE AYUDA Nuestros servicios son siempre gratuitos y ayudamos a los residentes rurales de bajos ingresos, independientemente de su estado migratorio. No ayudamos con casos criminales. Centramos nuestro trabajo en las áreas de: salud de los trabajadores agrícolas derechos civiles equidad educativa trabajo y empleo inmigración y ciudadanía pesticidas y seguridad de los trabajadores vivienda rural acceso a la salud para todos construyendo comunidades rurales sostenibles Si no ve su problema en la lista, visite www.lawhelpca.org para encontrar un programa de asistencia legal que pueda ayudarlo. Por favor llame al 916-446-7901 para asistencia o para aprender más sobre los próximos talleres de inmigración y naturalización.

TRABAJO + EMPLEO Una voz para los trabajadores de bajos salarios en el capitolio estatal El proyecto Trabajo y Empleo lleva a cabo investigaciones orientadas a políticas y encuestas de campo para trabajadores agrícolas, realiza actividades de promoción legislativa y administrativa en las áreas de salario y hora, seguro de desempleo y ley de trabajadores agrícolas, tanto a nivel estatal como federal, y proporciona capacitación, técnicas asistencia y apoyo para programas de servicios legales de California. Los principales objetivos del proyecto son: Ampliar las leyes laborales estatales que afectan los derechos de los trabajadores agrícolas y otros trabajadores de bajos salarios. Para mejorar y reformar los esfuerzos estatales de aplicación de la ley laboral, particularmente en la economía sumergida Asumir un papel de liderazgo al oponerse a los esfuerzos legislativos o reglamentarios para debilitar los derechos laborales nuevos o existentes que afectan a los trabajadores de bajos salarios, y especialmente a los trabajadores agrícolas y sus familias. Para llevar a cabo investigaciones relacionadas con políticas públicas y legales, educación y esfuerzos de medios Iniciar la capacitación de defensores, abogados y personal de agencias sobre las leyes laborales patrocinadas por la Fundación CRLA. Para monitorear las admisiones de trabajadores invitados en California bajo el programa federal H-2A Para participar en los esfuerzos nacionales de promoción en torno a los programas de trabajadores invitados y la legalización de los trabajadores agrícolas. Las actividades no relacionadas con el cabildeo del proyecto son, y han sido durante muchos años, generosamente apoyadas por la Fundación Rosenberg. CRLAF’s Recently Sponsored and Supported Labor + Employment Legislation 2023 AB 636 (Kalra): CRLAF sponsored this landmark legislation, enacting greater language access and labor rights education within the agricultural workforce and among H-2A employees. This bill mandates that the Labor Commissioner compile into one single written notice key information on roughly two dozen state laws and regulatory protections employers are required to provide H-2A workers in Spanish on their first day of employment. CRLAF also sponsored the previous version of this bill, AB 857 (Kalra). [Chaptered Bill Text .] 2017 AB 638 (Caballero): sponsored by CRLAF and partners Central American Resource Center and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, this bill requires that all persons engaged in providing advice, counsel, and direct representation have the proper legal training and accountability, to ensure that immigrants receive high-quality legal assistance and are not put at risk of receiving false or misleading information, removal from the United States, or being separated from their families. [Chaptered Bill Text .] SB 295 (Monning): CRLAF sponsored this bill which creates greater transparency in the sexual harassment prevention training required for farmworkers by SB 1087 (Monning, 2014) and addresses recent concerns about non-compliance by some Farm Labor Contractor (FLC)s. The legislation requires that FLCs annually disclose materials utilized to train workers in sexual harassment prevention, and report to the Labor Commissioner the total number of farmworkers they trained in the previous calendar year. The Labor Commissioner then aggregates each year’s reported numbers and publishes the statewide total to the Commissioner's website. [Chaptered Bill Text .] 2015 AB 970 (Nazarian): CRLAF sponsored this bill which closed gaps in the Labor Commissioner’s legal authority that precluded the Commissioner from issuing citations to employers for two increasingly common underground economy wage theft violations: illegal deductions made from workers’ wages for tools or equipment, and payment of sub-minimum wages below levels mandated by applicable local ‘living wage’ laws. AB 970 increased the likelihood that more workers victimized by unscrupulous employers will recover their stolen wages as a result of a Labor Commissioner workforce-wide investigation and citation process for these two violations, and simultaneously reduces state costs associated with remedying these violations through individual Berman hearings or civil lawsuits. [Chaptered Bill Text . Legislative History .] AB 1723 (Nazarian): requires the Labor Commissioner, when citing for a minimum wage violation, to also determine whether workers are owed ‘waiting time’ penalties for an employer’s failure to pay all wages when due. The bill has major financial implications for farmworkers and other low-wage workers whose unpaid minimum wages are often far less than any applicable ‘waiting time’ penalties. [Chaptered Bill Text . Complete Legislative History .] 2014 SB 1087 (Monning): CRLAF sponsored this bill in response to farmworker lawsuits and administrative claims revealing shocking instances of sexual harassment, including rape, against undocumented farmworker women, that drew significant media attention. (See ‘Rape In the Fields’ (2013) NPR/Frontline/Center for Investigative Reporting ). This legislation attacks a widespread culture of sexual harassment of farmworker women by FLCs and their supervisors through a combination of mandatory annual sexual harassment prevention training and testing of licensees; annual training of their supervisors; and training of farmworkers in how to prevent, identify and report sexual harassment. The bill also makes more than a dozen other needed changes to the state Farm Labor Contractor Act, including authorizing the Labor Commissioner to take adverse license actions against sexual predators. [Chaptered Bill Text . Complete Legislative History.] AB 1897 (Hernández): sponsored by the state Labor Federation and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. CRLAF was a significant partner in testimony before key committees, and lobbying for passage and the bill’s signature. AB 1897 makes most California employers, including growers, jointly and severally liable for their Labor Contractors’ wage theft and worker’s compensation violations for the first time under California law. [Chaptered Bill Text . Complete Legislative History .] 2013 SB 168 (Monning): dramatically revised successorship liability law to strengthen legal protections for farmworkers against FLCs’ wage theft, which is often committed as part of a fraudulent shutdown of their contracting business. [Chaptered Bill Text and complete Legislative History .] AB 442 (Nazarian): requires the Labor Commissioner, when issuing a citation for a minimum wage violation, to also recover liquidated damages for victimized workers in an amount equal to the total amount of their unpaid minimum wages. [Chaptered Bill Text . Complete Legislative History .] SB 435 (Padilla): expands protections for California workers in five outside industries who request, but are denied, heat stress-related cool down ‘recovery periods,’ treated the same way as daily rest periods under the Labor Code: employers in the five covered outside industries are prohibited from requiring workers to perform any work during any heat stress recovery period and, if the employer failed to provide such a recovery period upon a worker’s request, they must pay the employee one additional hour of pay at their regular rate of compensation for each work day that a recovery period was not provided. Workers can pursue these claims either in court or an administrative wage claim hearing. [Chaptered Bill Text . Complete Legislative History .] SB 390 (Wright): created new Labor Code criminal penalties on employers who deduct, and then steal, workers’ paycheck withholdings, and also created for the first time in California law a state cause of action (under the PAGA, discussed below) to attack this kind of unscrupulous employer conduct. [Chaptered Bill Text . Complete Legislative History .] 2012 AB 1675 (Bonilla): imposes stiff civil penalties on persons who operate as a FLC without first securing an FLC license. Farmworkers aggrieved by actions of an unlicensed FLC can collect penalties in a PAGA civil lawsuit, provided the State of California does not pursue the violation itself. [Chaptered Bill Text .] AB 2674 (Swanson): requires employers, for the first time under California law, to provide current and former employees, or their representatives, with a copy of their employment-related personnel records, which is often a vital first step in determining the merits of a worker’s claim of retaliation. This bill was vetoed once before, and represents a victory for worker advocates ‘staying the course’ to get relief in this important area. [Chaptered Bill Text .] SB 1255 (Wright): resolved long standing conflicts over whether a worker “suffers injury” when an employer fails to provide them with a complete and accurate itemized pay statement, as required by state law. CRLAF negotiated a compromise with trial lawyers, unions, and business interests which provides the courts with a better roadmap in how to interpret employer violations of these critical worker protections in the future. [Chaptered Bill Text . Complete Legislative History .] 2011 AB 243 (Alejo): enacted over the strong opposition of California agriculture, requires FLCs to provide their farmworker employees with an itemized wage statement which discloses all of the names and addresses of every entity (i.e., growers or other FLCs) to whom the farmworker was supplied during the pay period. [Chaptered Bill Text .] AB 240 (Rodriguez): requires the Labor Commissioner to allow workers not paid the minimum wage to recover minimum wage liquidated damages in a Berman administrative wage claim hearing, which their parallels rights if the claim is pursued in a civil action. This is a critical advance for low-wage workers whose only avenue to redress wage theft is a Berman hearing (because their individual wage claim is too small to be taken by a private attorney or a legal services law firm). [Chaptered Bill Text .] AB 469 (Swanson): enacted an omnibus wage theft statute with many new Labor Code protections aimed particularly at vulnerable low-wage immigrant workers in the underground economy; CRLAF wrote the first draft and co-sponsored the bill with the California Labor Federation, and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). [Chaptered Bill Text .] 2004 CRLAF sponsored the Labor Code's Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), which landmark legislation created a private right of action to enforce California labor law provisions previously reserved for enforcement solely by the state. CRLAF wrote the first draft and co-sponsored the original bill (SB 796) with the California Labor Federation (AFL-CIO). Employers immediately made strenuous efforts to completely repeal PAGA once it took effect. This effort fueled a budget stalemate that was only resolved after extensive negotiations that led to the enactment of a subsequent bill (SB 1809) which preserved the bulk of PAGA, while requiring administrative exhaustion before a right to sue would vest. [Chaptered Bill Text of SB 796 . Complete Legislative History of SB 796 . Chaptered Bill Text of SB 1809 . Complete Legislative History of SB 1809. ] The Financially Responsible Labor Contractor Act, SB 179 (Alarcon): sponsored by CRLAF, who also wrote the first draft, is a groundbreaking statute, opposed by dozens of employer groups in the Legislature, making entities liable when they knowingly entered into a financially insufficient contract for labor or services in five underground economy industries. A prior version was vetoed. [Chaptered Bill Text . Complete Legislative History .] The project’s non-lobbying activities are, and have been for many years, generously supported by the Rosenberg Foundation.

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COMUNIDADES RURALES SOSTENIBLES El Proyecto de Comunidades Rurales Sostenibles trabaja para garantizar el acceso equitativo a la atención médica para los trabajadores agrícolas y la población indigente rural de California a través de una estrategia de tres partes de desarrollo, análisis y difusión de datos sobre el estado de salud; análisis y discusión de políticas públicas; y alcance comunitario, educación y defensa. El proyecto aborda las causas sistémicas de la pobreza, la mala salud y el medio ambiente degradado de nuestras comunidades. El proyecto aboga por trabajar juntos en una estrategia coordinada local, regional y estatal que está elaborando soluciones sistémicas en torno a la atención médica para todos, cuestiones de justicia ambiental (uso de la tierra, necesidades de tránsito insatisfechas, calidad del agua), fomentando una gobernanza más responsable e inclusiva, y dirigiendo recursos financieros que abordan las prioridades del SRCP para las comunidades rurales y desfavorecidas. ____________________________________________________________________________________ CRLAF ha sido fundamental para liderar la lucha colaborativa por la atención médica ampliada para los indocumentados en las zonas rurales de California, con especial énfasis en el Condado de Fresno y el Condado de Sacramento, incluida la preservación del Programa de Servicios Médicamente Indigentes (MISP) y, más recientemente, Atención especializada. CRLAF también ha jugado un papel decisivo en la lucha para organizar la comunidad en torno a Health Care 4 All y obtener el Proyecto de Ley 4 del Senado a través de la legislatura. El 2 de junio de 2015, el Senado del Estado de California hizo historia al aprobar esta importante pieza de legislación propuesta que ampliaría la cobertura de salud a la población indocumentada de California.