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  • Community Resorces/Recursos Comunitarios

    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. COMMUNITY RESOURCES CRLAF provides informational services, high quality legal assistance, advocacy support, and community capacity building to provide immigrants the opportunity to be a part of local and state decision making processes that affect their families and community. The following resources are for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for legal advice. Please check back regularly for updates. Eng/Esp-Información en Medi-Cal para inmigrantes (2024) Conozca sus derechos Know Your Rights All people in the United States, regardless of immigration status, have certain rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution. Immigrants' Rights Under Trump Administration - (Español, English, Pashto) (12/2024) ILRC Red Cards - describe relevant laws to immigrants and refugees to help individuals assert their rights and defend themselves. (ILRC may ship red cards to immigrant-serving organization or a public defenders for free.) (en Inglés y Español) - Information about Public Charge and Disaster Assistance that will not affect immigration status. (2023) Legal rights in the workplace (related to sexual harass ment + workplace inspections) Derechos legales en el trabajo (relacionados al acoso sexual + inspecciones de trabajo) Derechos de vivienda en California (2022) Housing Rights in California (2022) Cómo solicitar asilo How to Seek Asylum Guide to seeking asylum in the U.S. (Stanford Law School, 2022) Guía para solicitar asilo en EU - corte de Sacramento (Stanford Law School, 2022) Guía para solicitar asilo en EU - corte de San Francisco (Stanford Law School, 2022) (en Inglés y Español) - Additional Resources for Immigrants in Court Proceedings (2022) Prepare un plan de emergencia Prepare an Emergency Plan CDSS's Disaster Assistance Guide for Immigrant Californians (2024) | English | Español Crea un plan de emergencia familial (2018) Create an Emergency Family Plan (2018) (en Inglés y Español) - Form/Autho rization to travel with kids/minors (en Inglés y Español) - Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit (Sacramento Court, 2011) Demanda para el rembolso del seguro de depósito Demand Letter Templates for Security Deposit Demanda para el rembolso del depósito de renta Demand letter for security deposit Información básica en depósitos de renta (2022) Basic information on security deposits (2022) Formas para presentar quejas contra abogados por el Colegio de Abogados de California y el Procurador General Forms to File Attorney Complaints with the California State Bar and California Attorney General Cómo presentar quejas contra personas dando consejos inmigratorios en California Formulario de queja sobre un abogado en California California attorney complaint form Formulario para denunciar la práctica no autorizada por alguien que no es abogado Non-Attorney Unlicensed Practice Of Law Complaint Form Formulario de queja del consumidor contra una compañía o corporación (2017) Consumer complaint against a business or corporation (2017)

  • California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation

    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. 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

  • ESTUDIANTES DE DERECHO | crlafoundation

    OPORTUNIDADES PARA LOS ESTUDIANTES DE LA LEY Estamos dedicados a brindar oportunidades a los estudiantes de derecho interesados en obtener experiencia legal. Vuelva a consultar las actualizaciones sobre oportunidades de capacitación y consulte a continuación los puestos actuales de estudiantes de derecho.

  • copy BOARD OF DIRECTORS | crlafoundation

    BOARD OF DIRECTORS Richard M. Pearl, Esq., Chair Law Offices of Richard M Pearl "I first got involved with farm workers when I started working with CRLA INC, in the in 1975. In the early 1980s when legal aid was under attack on a national level, we knew lobbying in particular. would be under attack; that's when CRLAF was born. Today, thanks to a cadre of visionary supporters, CRLAF remains privately funded legal aid program, doing incredibly important work that federally funded legal aid organizations are prohibited from doing." Rosa Armendariz Diablo Valley College Joseph Jaramillo, Esq. Housing & Economic Rights Advocates "I think that it’s difficult to pass strong protective legislation given the power and influence of big agribusinesses.That is why it is so important to have an organization like CRLA Foundation advocating for needed changes." Manuel Magana Retired Farm Worker "I started working with César Chavez in the 1970s. By the 1980s legal aid was under fire and we had to find another way to continue the important work. I am proud to have been on the forefront of creating CRLA Foundation. We have worked really hard for the rights of the farm workers for many years and still there are many things that need to change. One of the achievements in this fight is that farm workers now have access to a bathroom wherever they are working." Rosario Vásquez Community Representative Virginia Villegas, Esq. Villegas Carrera LLP "Over the years, I've seen first-hand the legislative work they engage in and the positive effects it has for low-wage workers throughout the state. CRLAF not only provides legal representation, but advocates on behalf of marginalized communities. If it were not for CRLAF these communities would not be getting the critical services they need." Please reload

  • PESTICIDA Y SEGURIDAD LABORAL | crlafoundation

    PESTICIDAS Y SEGURIDAD EN EL TRABAJO El Proyecto de Pesticidas y Seguridad en el Trabajo trabaja para arrojar luz y reducir los riesgos del trabajo agrícola y la exposición a los pesticidas que enfrentan los trabajadores agrícolas de California y otros residentes rurales. El Proyecto mantiene un diálogo continuo con Cal OSHA y los funcionarios reguladores de pesticidas locales, estatales y federales para alentar investigaciones más exhaustivas y una aplicación más estricta de las leyes y regulaciones existentes, mejoras en las regulaciones y un mayor uso de alternativas de control de plagas más seguras y sostenibles. También brindamos asistencia técnica a programas de servicios legales y organizaciones comunitarias para desarrollar materiales de divulgación, acceder y comprender las leyes y regulaciones sobre pesticidas y seguridad laboral y registros públicos y responder a incidentes de envenenamiento por pesticidas. Colaboramos con miembros de otras organizaciones sin fines de lucro para educar a los formuladores de políticas, funcionarios de agencias y al público sobre el estrés por calor, la exposición a pesticidas y otros riesgos laborales y ambientales para la salud y la seguridad que afectan a los trabajadores agrícolas de California y otros pobres de las zonas rurales. Recursos del proyecto: Proteger a los trabajadores agrícolas: promover la implementación completa del trabajador Estándar de protección (WPS): http://protectfarmworkers.org DVD- En los Campos: Como Protegerse de los Pesticidas en California (To solicite una copia de este DVD, envíe un correo electrónico a aatat@crlaf.org ) Fields of Poison 2002: California Farmworkers and Pesticides - descargue el informe aquí: Informe en español Informe en inglés Iluminación para trabajos agrícolas nocturnos La Fundación CRLA lideró la promoción de una nueva regulación que especifica los requisitos de iluminación para el trabajo agrícola nocturno. Una iluminación adecuada en el trabajo agrícola nocturno es crucial para prevenir lesiones por colisiones, resbalones, caídas, cortes y mordeduras, así como para reducir la fatiga visual y la fatiga y los riesgos de violencia en el lugar de trabajo. Esta regulación, adoptada en febrero de 2020, especifica los niveles mínimos de iluminación, para las áreas de trabajo y descanso, las vías hacia los baños y dentro de los baños, requiere reuniones de seguridad al comienzo de cada turno para orientarse al trabajo por la noche y la provisión de prendas de seguridad de alta visibilidad para los trabajadores . Protección contra humo de incendios forestales A medida que los incendios forestales han aumentado en tamaño y frecuencia, un número creciente de trabajadores agrícolas y otros trabajadores al aire libre han estado trabajando en condiciones de mucho humo sin ninguna protección respiratoria o capacitación. Para abordar este problema, la Fundación CRLA trabajó con otras organizaciones laborales y comunitarias para abogar por una regulación de protección contra el humo de incendios forestales de emergencia, que entró en vigencia en julio de 2018. Ahora abogamos por requisitos más estrictos en una regulación permanente y ayudando a desarrollar un programa modelo de capacitación . Protección contra plaguicidas La Fundación CRLA ha trabajado con otras organizaciones para convencer a los reguladores del peligro de exposición al cerebro que daña los pesticidas clorpirifos. En 2019, los reguladores de California negociaron con éxito la cancelación de la mayoría de los productos de clorpirifos y la legislatura estatal presupuestó $ 5.7 millones para el desarrollo e implementación de métodos más seguros de control de plagas. A principios de 2020, el fabricante líder de clorpirifos ha anunciado que ya no venderán el pesticida en los Estados Unidos. La Fundación CRLA está presionando para mejorar la aplicación de las regulaciones de pesticidas en los condados agrícolas clave con la coalición de californianos para la reforma de pesticidas. La Fundación CRLA, con los californianos para la reforma de pesticidas, aboga por restricciones más estrictas en el uso del fumigante del suelo 1,3 dicloropropeno que causa cáncer y para sensibilizar a la comunidad sobre los altos niveles de aire de este pesticida medido en Shafter en 2018 y Parlier en 2018 y 2019. Protección contra el estrés por calor para trabajadores al aire libre La Fundación CRLA desempeñó un papel importante en la promoción de más regulaciones protectoras contra el estrés por calor, que entró en vigencia el 1 de mayo de 2015. Ahora se requiere que los empleadores proporcionen suficiente sombra para que los trabajadores puedan escapar del calor severo durante los períodos de comida y descanso. Los empleadores deben asegurarse de que los jefes de los campos son entrenados en cómo identificar y proporcionar ayudas de emergencia a los trabajadores del campo cuando se muestra signos de enfermedad por calor. "Los trabajadores agrícolas de California sufren más muertes por calor y enfermedades que cualquier otro trabajador en las industrias al aire libre" - Mauricio Peña, The Desert Sun Iluminación para trabajos agrícolas nocturnos La Fundación CRLA lideró la promoción de una nueva regulación que especifica los requisitos de iluminación para el trabajo agrícola nocturno. Una iluminación adecuada en el trabajo agrícola nocturno es crucial para prevenir lesiones por colisiones, resbalones, caídas, cortes y mordeduras, así como para reducir la fatiga visual y la fatiga y los riesgos de violencia en el lugar de trabajo. Esta regulación, adoptada en febrero de 2020, especifica los niveles mínimos de iluminación, para las áreas de trabajo y descanso, las vías hacia los baños y dentro de los baños, requiere reuniones de seguridad al comienzo de cada turno para orientarse al trabajo por la noche y la provisión de prendas de seguridad de alta visibilidad para los trabajadores . Protección contra humo de incendios forestales A medida que los incendios forestales han aumentado en tamaño y frecuencia, un número creciente de trabajadores agrícolas y otros trabajadores al aire libre han estado trabajando en condiciones de mucho humo sin ninguna protección respiratoria o capacitación. Para abordar este problema, la Fundación CRLA trabajó con otras organizaciones laborales y comunitarias para abogar por una regulación de protección contra el humo de incendios forestales de emergencia, que entró en vigencia en julio de 2018. Ahora abogamos por requisitos más estrictos en una regulación permanente y ayudando a desarrollar un programa modelo de capacitación . Protección contra plaguicidas La Fundación CRLA ha trabajado con otras organizaciones para convencer a los reguladores del peligro de exposición al cerebro que daña los pesticidas clorpirifos. En 2019, los reguladores de California negociaron con éxito la cancelación de la mayoría de los productos de clorpirifos y la legislatura estatal presupuestó $ 5.7 millones para el desarrollo e implementación de métodos más seguros de control de plagas. A principios de 2020, el fabricante líder de clorpirifos ha anunciado que ya no venderán el pesticida en los Estados Unidos. La Fundación CRLA está presionando para mejorar la aplicación de las regulaciones de pesticidas en los condados agrícolas clave con la coalición de californianos para la reforma de pesticidas. La Fundación CRLA, con los californianos para la reforma de pesticidas, aboga por restricciones más estrictas en el uso del fumigante del suelo 1,3 dicloropropeno que causa cáncer y para sensibilizar a la comunidad sobre los altos niveles de aire de este pesticida medido en Shafter en 2018 y Parlier en 2018 y 2019. Protección contra el estrés por calor para trabajadores al aire libre La Fundación CRLA desempeñó un papel importante en la promoción de más regulaciones protectoras contra el estrés por calor, que entró en vigencia el 1 de mayo de 2015. Ahora se requiere que los empleadores proporcionen suficiente sombra para que los trabajadores puedan escapar del calor severo durante los períodos de comida y descanso. Los empleadores deben asegurarse de que los jefes de los campos son entrenados en cómo identificar y proporcionar ayudas de emergencia a los trabajadores del campo cuando se muestra signos de enfermedad por calor.

  • TRABAJO Y EMPLEO | crlafoundation

    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.

  • EQUIDAD EDUCATIVA | crlafoundation

    EQUIDAD EDUCATIVA Ampliación de oportunidades a través de la equidad educativa El Proyecto de Educación brinda asistencia técnica, apoyo de defensa y capacitación a proyectos de servicios legales, instituciones educativas primarias y secundarias, otras entidades públicas y personas de bajos ingresos en todo el estado. El Proyecto de Educación se dedica a la defensa legislativa y administrativa en torno a cuestiones de derecho educativo, en particular la educación bilingüe. El Proyecto de Educación participa en una serie de grupos de trabajo estatales relacionados con la política educativa.

  • 2018 events | crlafoundation

    NOTICIAS RURALES + ALERTAS Tickets MEET OUR PARTNERS

  • CRLAF 2018 Impact Report

    Your 2018 Impact Report: See the Impact of your donation. CRLAF 2022 Impact Report Dear Friends and Supporters, The past two years have been filled with unprecedented challenges raised by a global pandemic that has turned every aspect of our normal lives upside down and wildfires that continue to push low-wage workers into greater economic insecurity. At the same time, CRLAF has stepped up to do what is needed to protect the rights of rural Californians. Amagda Pérez, Executive Director CRLAF advocates have worked around the clock developing timely and culturally responsive information on COVID resources and fighting for worker and tenant protections, safe living conditions for H2-A workers, adequate lighting for night-time work, wildfire protections, heat illness prevention, health for all, and access to legal and other lifeline services for rural communities. We have provided legal assistance to aggrieved workers, families seeking education equity, and immigrants seeking to regularize their immigration status. We also secured release of individuals from ICE detention, defended migrants in removal proceedings, and assisted hundreds to apply for benefits that protect family unity. As we continue to respond to statewide emergencies and ensure that the most vulnerable in our communities have the protections and support that they need, we thank you for your support and shared commitment to ensuring that farm workers, other low-wage workers and their families have access to high-quality legal representation and access to equal justice. Our work has brought hope and improved the working and living conditions of countless rural families. Thank you for standing with us in our fight for justice, equity, dignity, and respect for our clients. We are proud to carry forward Justice Cruz Reynoso's legacy of service and ensure that every person has access to justice, regardless of their socioeconomic and immigration status. Respectfully, Amagda Pérez Executive Director 2022 IMPACT REPORT California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation LABOR + EMPLOYMENT PROJECT CRLAF engages in policy advocacy at the local, state, and federal levels. In 2022, we tracked more than 60 state and federal bills, and sponsored and supported legislation seeking to expand labor law protections for H-2A farm workers and other rural low-wage workers, and opposed bills which eroded or eliminated those protections. We provided written or oral communication to committees; signed on to support/ opposition letters; and held conversations with key political staff. We also monitored all new H-2A applications for large numbers of guest workers in key counties, and advocated for H-2A and US farm workers with the US Department of Labor (DOL) and California Employment Development Department (EDD). Specifically, CRLAF su pported SJR 11, AB 2183, AB 2300, SB 951, and] HR 1603. H-2A Monitoring and Advocacy: CRLAF sponsored AB 857, the "California Legal Rights Disclosure Act for H-2A Farm Workers,” that would mandate employers’ single required written notice with information on roughly two dozen California laws/regulatory protections be in Spanish. We are working with the Labor Commissioner on another draft of AB 857, to ensure farm workers are provided clear, concrete, and straightforward information on their rights prior to their start of employment. The original text would have also codified for the first time in California law H-2A workers’ right to be paid for time spent in employers' vehicles while traveling between employers' housing and field worksites. CRLAF and other advocates have pending actions to recover these stolen wages; the estimated unpaid travel time for the 25,000+ H-2A workforce in 2021 was between $50-60 million dollars. In 2022, CRLAF helped review and analyze more than 200 California H-2A job orders seeking approval for over 20,000 workers, and found that a very high percentage contain false or misleading information about housing, transportation pay, and other key H-2A job terms that violate California law. We regularly collaborate with DOL, EDD, California's Housing and Community Development agency, and other regulatory bodies to protect and prioritize the housing and labor rights of farm workers across the state. PAGA Defense: CRLAF and CRLA were the original sponsors of the Private Attorney General Act (PAGA), a unique statute providing a mechanism for enforcement of basic labor law protections. We continue to collaborate with the legislature, labor unions, and trial lawyers to defend PAGA. RURAL HOUSING PROJECT CRLAF educates rural, low-income tenants and home-owners on their rights, brings impact litigation cases, and engages in housing advocacy at the state and national levels to maintain access to affordable housing and keep our most vulnerable residents housed. In 2022, CRLAF and the California Coalition for Rural Housing successfully expanded state funding for farm worker housing through the Joe Serna Farm Worker Housing Grant Program. We also co-sponsored and supported AB 1654, Funding for Farm Worker Housing, which increases farm worker housing funds by automatically setting-aside a percentage whenever the state augments the main tax credit; and AB 2339 Emergency Shelters, which closes loopholes in cities and counties’ meeting low-income households’ housing needs, including the unsheltered, and the identification of real sites for shelters. In October 2022, CRLAF and Western Center on Law and Poverty held a biennial Housing Summit, connecting legal services advocates and local groups to discuss issues impacting our shared communities, develop solutions, and define priorities for the upcoming two-year legislative session. PESTICIDE + WORKER SAFETY CRLAF works with various partners to improve enforcement of existing pesticide and work health and safety protections and advocate for greater health protective policies to reduce exposure to pesticides and work hazards including heat, wildfire smoke, and other climate conditions threatening rural health. Legislative + Regulatory Updates: Over the past year, CRLAF supported AB 1787, which enhances lab test reporting requirements to better protect agricultural pesticide applicators; SB 1044, which prohibits retaliation against employees (with exceptions for certain job types) for refusing to work inside an evacuation zone and requires employees’ access to communication devices for emergency use; and AB 211, which increases fines for pesticide safety violations. CRLAF joined other labor advocates in successfully opposing Monarch Tractor's petition to revise Cal-OSHA regulations to allow autonomous tractor use, including on farm roads and in fields where workers are on the ground harvesting. The petition was denied because driverless vehicle technology does not yet have a proven record of reliability. Though Cal-OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard will expire at the end of 2022, CRLAF helped assure the proposal of a non-emergency, two-year regulation preserving key protections in indoor worksites and employer-provided housing to take its place. CRLAF also worked to help develop a Cal-OSHA date palm work platform safety standard, and will participate in an advisory committee over the coming year to help draft a workplace violence prevention standard and finalize an Indoor Heat Illness Prevention Standard. Preventing agricultural work inside wildfire evacuation zones also remains a CRLAF priority. In September, 2022, Sonoma County adopted an Agriculture Pass program allowing some entry into evacuation zones for animal care and irrigation, but not harvest work. Sacramento County is now developing their own program with our input. Protection from pesticide exposure: CRLAF is a plaintiff in an Earthjustice challenge regarding the use of the extremely toxic herbicide paraquat. We actively participate in the Californians for Pesticide Reform Coalition to compel the Department of Pesticide Regulation and County Agricultural Commissioners to improve pesticide regulation enforcement and language access. CRLAF has also advocated for years to tighten restrictions on use of the carcinogenic soil fumigant 1,3 dichloropropene. SUSTAINABLE RURAL COMMUNITIES PROJECT (SRCP) SRCP works with partners and communities to develop and implement policies addressing systemic issues of poverty, poor health faced by disadvantaged migrant farm worker and immigrants. Legislation: SRCP supported three dozen bills during the final legislative session of 2022, and sponsored SB 558, Farm Worker Climate Resilience and Adaptation Program, which would have established a farm worker task force and granting program to farm worker-serving organizations. CRLAF helped win $1.5 million to update 20-year old data through a Farm Worker Health Study. CRLAF collaborated with author UC Merced on the advisory steering committee to ensure the study’s completion in June, 2022. CRLAF prioritized the Health4All campaign, which successfully expanded Medi-Cal coverage to eligible undocumented immigrants ages 26-49. We continue to celebrate this historic win granting California’s immigrant community access to care and health coverage. This expansion will go into effect on January 1, 2024, and is in addition to the May 1, 2022 expansion for undocumented residents over 50 years of age. We look forward to continuing to provide eligibility-related education to increase immigrant enrollment. Health + Immigration Work: To prepare residents for advocacy engagements, CRLAF hosted quarterly trainings and policy briefings, as well as sent regular alert updates on shelter-in-place ordinances, housing protections, nutrition programs, DACA public charge, and state vs. federal, and other privately funded COVID-19 economic relief programs. When possible, we provided direct application assistance, since many forms must be completed online and in English. Environmental Work: Since 2015, SRCP has administered the Interim Emergency Bottled Water Project for Fresno County’s unincorporated communities of Cantua Creek and El Porvenir, providing safe drinking water to 166 rural households (over 700 residents). We work with the Water Resources Control Board to ensure uninterrupted water delivery until the County completes a permanent water system. SRCP Leadership Roles: CRLAF organizes trainings and townhalls to educate partners and stakeholders on all proposed and or realized changes in policies, the critical role of affordable and expanded healthcare access, and the health and economic injuries resulting from inequitable vaccine access and discriminatory COVID 19 relief initiatives. We participate in various education campaigns on these topics as well as provide interviews for local newspapers, and on Spanish radio and television. Over the past year, SRCP led a coalition of 12 local organizations to prioritize farm workers as essential workers, which resulted in the vaccination of thousands of individuals. CRLAF has recently served as fiscal agent for two statewide regranting programs addressing equitable access to COVID-19 care and workplace safety, and chronic drought issues faced by farm worker communities. We continue to convene the COVID-19 Farm Worker and Rural Immigrant Community Advocacy Coalition, composed of 12 farm worker and immigrant-serving organizations, and the Central Valley Legal Defense Fund (CVLDF), a group of attorneys, and local community and faith leaders dedicated to raising and providing funding for residents placed in immigration removal proceedings. CRLAF also leads and will once again draft the annual policy platform for the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund’s IHHEEL (Immigration, Health, Housing, Education, Environmental Justice and Land Use and Planning) Health and Immigration Policy Subcommittees, involving over 30 immigrant and refugee-serving Central Valley organizations. LABOR + CIVIL RIGHTS LITIGATION UNIT The Labor and Civil Rights Litigation Unit provides legal representation to farm workers and low-income workers in rural California ineligible for (Legal Services Corporation) LSC-program services, and who may be best represented in a class action. In 2022, the Unit handled a variety of issues and cases, including defeating a Sheriff’s motion to dismiss on a forceful eviction; filing appellate briefs with the Ninth Circuit on the issue of client employer; defending tenants in unlawful detainer cases; assisting tenants assert their rights to habitable housing; co authoring two amicus briefs and participating on a third amicus brief; litigating cases in federal and bankruptcy courts; and collaborating with partners to co-host housing clinics and address education issues affecting migrant farm worker families. Outreach Efforts: In our third round of the statewide COVID Worker Outreach Program (CWOP), CRLAF has conducted field observations, door-to-door outreach, and participated in community events to protect access to rural health and other supportive safety-net services. Advocates traveled thousands of miles to provide information on workplace protections under COVID-19, sick leave, access to testing and vaccines, housing and other related labor rights, and distributed personal protection equipment to prevent COVID-19 contagion, and wildfire smoke and pesticide related illness. We partnered with local agencies, health providers, and religious organizations to organize and host vaccination clinics. Through this project, CRLAF reached more than 20,000 Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley residents. We are currently providing financial assistance information to prevent foreclosures to low-income residents in the Sacramento Valley behind on their mortgage. In the past year, CRLAF attorneys offered training for families and local organizations on housing and employment, and co-hosted three housing and tenants’ rights clinics. Amicus Brief + Support: CRLAF co-authored an amicus brief with CRLA, Inc. on a PAGA case before the U.S. Supreme Court in Viking River Cruises v. Mariana, and partnered with CRLA, Inc. to write an amicus brief to the Agricultural Labor Relations Board in Cinagro Farms, Inc., involving a group of farm workers misclassified as independent contractors. CRLAF also participated in the drafting of an amicus brief with CRLA, Inc. on a PAGA case before the California Supreme Court in Adolph v. Uber Technologies. Current Cases: CRLAF has been grateful for the opportunity to expand our housing work by recently bringing on a Housing Law Attorney and Legal Fellow, and training new attorneys. We continue prioritizing class actions that QLSPs are unable to take, and serving workers and tenants who do not qualify for QLSP services. These cases involve farm workers experiencing labor violations such as unpaid overtime or full hours worked, failure to provide meals, rest periods, and legal documents including leases, paystubs, and letters of employment. Cases also include tenants experiencing inhumane housing conditions in apartments, migrant labor camps, or mobile home parks, unlawful detainers, and improper evictions. Most cases are overshadowed by threats to our clients’ immigration status as a way of forcing compliance. Last winter, CRLAF joined the Sacramento Environmental Justice Coalition. As the only legal aid in this coalition, we provide information on tenant rights and how to assert them, with particular focus on the eviction process and the right to remain in one's home. We are excited about additional opportunities this partnership will bring, including identifying impact housing and employment cases. CRLAF is currently investigating two housing cases involving housing provided to migrant farm worker families, and a landlord who failed to provide habitable housing and threatened their tenant with deportation, based on their perception of the tenant’s immigration status. Finally, CRLAF is investigating serious education inequities faced by migrant students and English learners, looking into possible redress with a few partners, and considering litigation. The Unit aims to file 2-3 class actions or impact litigation cases in 2023. CITIZENSHIP + IMMlGRATION PROJECT CRLAF’s team of DOJ accredited representatives, attorneys, paralegals, and advocates worked tirelessly over the past year to provide education and outreach, consultations, applications for affirmative immigration relief, and technical assistance for service providers. We continued to support community college students and educators by offering legal services, presentations, and trainings, and have recently taken a regional administrator role, working with community-based organizations to provide DACA and Naturalization application filing fee assistance to community members throughout the Central Valley. Removal Defense Project: The need for removal defense services has grown exponentially, due to pro se hearings being scheduled for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. In addition to full-scope representation, many of our services over the past year were focused on developing and providing pro se assistance, such as covering dockets through the Attorney of the Day program, staffing detained consultation sessions, and providing limited-scope assistance. The new Immigrant Health Equity Project manages CRLAF’s Public Charge hotline, providing individualized legal counsel on health access, as well as legal and education services on immigrant access to healthcare and public benefits, with a focus on pandemic relief programs, Public Charge policies, and Medi-Cal expansions. Sacramento Family, Unity, Education, + Legal (FUEL) Network for Immigrants: The City Council of Sacramento established the Sacramento Family Unity, Education, and Legal (FUEL) Network for Immigrants in 2017, for which CRLAF continues to serve as fiscal lead. The FUEL Network is a robust collaborative of over 80 Sacramento community-based organizations, legal services providers, volunteer attorney groups, labor unions, faith-based groups, and educational institutions providing critical informational and legal services to immigrant communities. COMMUNITY ADVOCACY + SPECIAL PROJECTS CRLAF reinforced its commitment to protecting the health and well-being of low-income, essential workers and their families, as one of the few organizations conducting outreach and field monitoring throughout the pandemic. Our regular community presence encouraged workers’ confidence to reveal various civil rights violations, which were brought to our Immigration and Litigation Units to assess eligibility for benefits and representation. Over the past year, CRLAF uncovered a number of education inequities exacerbated under pandemic conditions, which impact the education of immigrant and/or English Learners, especially the children of migrant farm workers. CRLAF has seen districts discontinue transportation for rural areas; while California law does not guarantee the right to school transportation, it has greatly affected farm worker parents who start work before sunrise, and are unable to take their children to school on time. This has resulted in students being transported to and from school in overcrowded and unsafe vehicles and/or missing school. Migrant farm worker families living in labor camps must also leave every winter due to mandatory camp closures. These migrant students face being dis-enrolled from their schools as they are unable to return before the start of the spring semester; final exam dates that are scheduled a day before their move out date from the camps; and not obtaining all of the appropriate credits when they leave the state. CRLAF has also recently encountered major habitability problems, including entire apartment complexes, mobile homes parks, and labor camps with infestations of cockroaches, mice, mold, broken windows, torn screens, unsafe plumbing, and dirt floors. Residents have expressed concern about racist landlords and housing managers. We continue to hold Know Your Rights presentations and distribute informational flyers to labor camps, work crews, housing projects, churches, and local events to educate and work with our communities toward greater legal justice. This past year brought both exciting opportunities and challenges for the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation. We launched several ambitious statewide projects, while pivoting to address emerging needs in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires, other natural disasters, and policies that do not prioritize, nor consider our rural, underserved communities. In 2023, we will build upon the accomplishments of our past 41 years to continue protecting California’s farm workers, rural low-wage workers, and migrant families’ rights and access to legal justice. Please join us in assisting rural Californians access equal justice. Support like yours expands civic participation and helps to create a more just future for all Californians, regardless of their immigration and socioeconomic status. THANK YOU DONORS + SUPPORTERS CRLAF is ever grateful to our grantors, as well as individual supporters, without whom our work would not be possible. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to all of those who gave throughout 2022. All gifts are directly invested into the communities we serve, expanding rural, migrant and mixed-status families' access to services and justice through legal action, advocacy, and education.

  • EVENTS | crlafoundation

    ¡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!

  • AYUDA | crlafoundation

    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.

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La California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation es una organización sin fines de lucro 501 (c) 3 con identificación fiscal federal 94-2800442.

 

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