top of page

Search Results

45 elementos encontrados para ""

  • OPEN POSITIONS | crlafoundation

    JUNTA DIRECTIVA About California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (CRLAF): We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1981 based in Sacramento, with satellite offices throughout the state. CRLAF's mission is to achieve social justice and equity in partnership with farmworkers and the underserved in rural communities through community, legal, and legislative advocacy. Our goal is to help the rural poor improve their economic, social, and political conditions and become more civically engaged in their communities. We provide community outreach and education, legal services, and public policy advocacy on issues important to rural communities. We work in the areas of immigration and citizenship, labor and employment, housing, education, health, workplace safety, and environmental justice. Equal Opportunity Employer: California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship status, color, religion, gender identity and/or expression, physical or mental disability, nationality, sexual orientation, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. We believe everyone has something important to contribute. Respecting individual differences is an integral part of our culture and we endeavor to make our differences work for us to achieve our mission. JOB ANNOUNCEMENT STAFF ATTORNEY CRLAF seeks a Staff Attorney to join its Citizenship + Immigration Project California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (CRLAF)’s immigration practice provides both full-scope direct representation and limited-scope legal assistance to low-income clients in their affirmative and defensive immigration cases. We represent individuals and families with their affirmative applications for immigration relief, including: family-based visa petitions, U visas, T visas, VAWA, naturalization, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, and asylum. We also represent individuals and clients in their removal proceedings, and prepare cases for relief including: asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT, cancellation of removal, bond, and post-conviction relief. We engage in extensive community education throughout Sacramento and the Central Valley to equip immigrants, farmworkers, and the underserved with information about their rights and recent developments in immigration law and policy. Position: Immigration Staff Attorney (full-time, exempt position) CRLAF is hiring for an Immigration Staff Attorney based in Sacramento, CA to provide legal assistance and representation to individuals in their affirmative applications for immigration relief before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration. CRLAF currently engages a hybrid work model that permits remote work. Duties + responsibilities: Provide limited-scope or full-scope services to individuals and families in their applications for immigration relief, including DACA, naturalization, U Visa, T Visa, VAWA, family-based immigration, TPS, and asylum. Support and participate in local immigrants’ rights collaboratives and networks, including the Sacramento Family Unity, Education, and Legal (FUEL) Network for Immigrants, the California Afghan Legal Services Project (ALSP), and the Sacramento Coalition for Afghan Empowerment (SCALE). Provide training and other technical assistance to local partner organizations, including non-profit agencies, religious groups, schools, and other community-based organizations. Conduct culturally competent and community specific “Know Your Rights” presentations and other educational outreach for immigrant communities. Represent CRLAF in local coalitions, partnerships, and agencies. Ensure entry of timely, accurate, and detailed case data into CRLAF’s case management and reporting systems. Assist with administrative and fundraising work of the organization. Minimum Qualifications: Demonstrated commitment to social justice and the empowerment of immigrant communities. Law degree and license to practice law. At least two years of experience practicing immigration law. Valid California Driver license. Fluency in Spanish. Experience working with low-income, non-English speaking clients. Ability to multitask, prioritize, set, and meet deadlines with timeliness and a high attention to detail. Ability to maintain accurate records and competently utilize technology platforms and databases. Ability to organize and prioritize essential information and data points to report on the project. Excellent oral and written communication skills. Excellent research, writing, and organizational skills. Ability to work in a team-focused and multicultural work environment. Ability to work via phone and in-person with a variety of actors, including clients, attorneys, staff, volunteers, partner organizations, and representatives of the government agencies in a professional, amicable and team-oriented manner. Experience training or presenting on immigration-related matters and/or practical skills is a plus. Hours, Compensation, and Benefits: Salary range: $70,000 to $78,000 Employer-paid medical, vision, and dental insurance (with half-paid coverage for dependents) Flexible spending account benefits Employer-sponsored loan repayment assistance program Employer-sponsored retirement plan Generous vacation, sick leave, and holiday package CRLAF has a 37.5 hour work week Application Information: If interested, please email cover letter, resume, and a list of 3 professional references to jobs@crlaf.org . Please address cover letter to “Hiring Committee” and write “Immigration Staff Attorney” in the subject line. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Position is open until filled. JOB ANNOUNCEMENT STAFF ATTORNEY CRLAF seeks a Staff Attorney to join its Removal Defense Project California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (CRLAF)’s immigration practice provides both full-scope direct representation and limited-scope legal assistance to low-income clients in their affirmative and defensive immigration cases. We represent individuals and families with their affirmative applications for immigration relief, including: family-based visa petitions, U visas, T visas, VAWA, naturalization, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, and asylum. We also represent individuals and clients in their removal proceedings, preparing cases for relief including: asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT, cancellation of removal, bond, and post-conviction relief. Additionally, we engage in extensive community education throughout Sacramento and the Central Valley to equip immigrants, farmworkers, and the underserved with information about their rights and recent developments in immigration law and policy. Position: Immigration Staff Attorney - Removal Defense Project (full-time, exempt position) California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (CRLAF)'s Removal Defense Project is hiring for an Immigration Staff Attorney based in Sacramento, CA. The position will provide legal assistance and representation to individuals in their removal proceedings before the Immigration Court. CRLAF currently engages a hybrid work model that permits remote work. Duties + responsibilities: Provide consultations, limited-scope, or full-scope services to individuals and families in removal proceedings at the Sacramento or San Francisco Immigration Court. Provide consultations, limited-scope, or full-scope services to individuals detained in ICE detention centers in California. Support and participate in local immigrants’ rights collaboratives and networks, including the Sacramento Family Unity, Education, and Legal (FUEL) Network for Immigrants and the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice (CCIJ). Participate in providing pro bono assistance to pro se respondents through the Attorney of the Day program at the Sacramento Immigration Court. Provide training and other technical assistance to local partner organizations, including non-profit agencies, religious groups, schools, and other community-based organizations. Represent CRLAF in local coalitions, partnerships, and agencies. Ensure entry of timely, accurate, and detailed case data into CRLAF’s case management and reporting systems. Assist with administrative and fundraising work of the organization. Minimum Qualifications: Demonstrated commitment to social justice and the empowerment of immigrant communities. Law degree and active license to practice law. At least two years of experience practicing immigration law. Valid California driver’s license. Fluency in Spanish. Experience working with low-income, non-English speaking clients. Ability to multitask, prioritize, set, and meet deadlines with timeliness and a high attention to detail. Ability to maintain accurate records and competently utilize technology platforms and databases. Ability to organize and prioritize essential information and data points to report on projects. Excellent oral and written communication skills. Excellent research, writing, and organizational skills. Ability to work in a team-focused and multicultural work environment. Ability to work via phone and in-person with a variety of actors, including clients, attorneys, staff, volunteers, partner organizations, and representatives of the government agencies in a professional, amicable and team-oriented manner. Experience training or presenting on immigration-related matters and/or practical skills is a plus. Hours, Compensation, and Benefits: Salary range: $70,000 to $78,000 Employer-paid medical, vision, and dental insurance (with half-paid coverage for dependents) Flexible spending account benefits Employer-sponsored loan repayment assistance program Employer-sponsored retirement plan Generous vacation, sick leave, and holiday package CRLAF has a 37.5 hour, 5-day work week Application Information: If interested, please email cover letter, resume, and a list of 3 professional references to jobs@crlaf.org . Please address cover letter to “Hiring Committee” and write “Immigration Staff Attorney - Removal Defense Project” in the subject line. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Position is open until filled.

  • Coronavirus (COVID-19) | crlafoundation

    ACERCA DE CRLAF California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (CRLAF) and the Sacramento Family Unity, Education, and Legal (FUEL) Network for Immigrants are committed to supporting and serving immigrants throughout the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and have compiled critical information and resources to help immigrant communities navigate this challenging time. We will continue updating this document throughout the pandemic as much of this information is rapidly changing on a daily basis. Eng/Esp-Información en Medi-Cal para inmigrantes (2024) Coronavirus Resources (2020) Recursos de Coronavirus (2020) Julio 2020 COVID-19 Recursos é Informacion Más > Hemos recopilado información importante y recursos para ayudar a las comunidades migrantes a navegar este tiempo difícil. Continuaremos actualizando este documento durante de la pandemia, puesto que mucha de esta información cambia constantemente. (actualizado a partir del 20 de julio de 2020) April 2020 Salubridad Laboral Video En Español > Esta infografía tiene información sobre sus derechos como trabajador de California, sus derechos al salario mínimo, sobretiempo, descansos, no han cambiado. PDF Download > Labor + Civil Rights July 2020 COVID-19 Resources and Information Read More > Critical information and resources to help immigrant communities navigate this challenging time. We will continue updating this document throughout the pandemic as much of this information is rapidly changing on a daily basis. (updated July 20, 2020) April 2020 SDI en California Video en Español > Esta infografía tiene información sobre que es el Seguro de Discapacidad disponible para los trabajadores de California, sin importar su estatus legal. PDF Download > Labor + Civil Rights April 2020 Derechos de los Trabajadores Video En Español > Esta infografía tiene información sobre sus derechos como trabajador de California, sus derechos al salario mínimo, sobretiempo, descansos, no han cambiado. PDF Download > Labor + Civil Rights April 2020 Dispensario de Comida Video En Español > Esta infografía le explica cómo encontrar dispensarios de comida (food banks) por internet cercas de usted. PDF Download > Labor + Civil Rights

  • 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.

  • LEY DE INMIGRACIÓN | crlafoundation

    PROYECTO DE CIUDADANÍA E INMIGRACIÓN Caminos hacia la ciudadanía + unidad familiar CRLAF's Citizenship + Immigrant Project provides informational services, high quality legal assistance, advocacy support, and community capacity building to provide immigrants the opportunity to be a part of the decision making process that affects their families and community. We serve some of the most marginalized communities throughout rural California. This project focuses on outreach and provides information on constitutional rights, family emergency planning, protection from immigration fraud, the naturalization process, the immigration consequences of criminal convictions, and immigration relief and benefits. Attorneys provide training to community advocates on immigration and naturalization law and provide direct assistance to immigrant communities with applying for citizenship, VAWA, T visas, U visas, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), family based immigration relief, and relief for unaccompanied minors (asylum and SIJS). Since 1993, in collaboration with our partner organizations, CRLAF has provided information on the naturalization process and changes in welfare and immigration laws to more than 38,000 immigrants, trained close to 2400 community volunteers, assisted approximately 33,060 lawful permanent residents with completing the naturalization application, tested 18,265 applicants on citizenship skills, performed 3306 mock naturalization interviews, conducted 1984 follow up interviews for applicants with complicated naturalization cases and represented 993 applicants in their naturalization interviews in the Central Valley. Since 2012, CRLAF has conducted outreach on DACA. In collaboration with our partners, we have been able to provide informational services on DACA, VAWA, and U Visas to more than 5,000 immigrants and have assisted more than 350 childhood arrivals to apply for DACA. CRLAF began the Undocumented Unaccompanied Minors Project in 2013 where we assist with applications for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, Asylum, and other forms of immigration relief. Beginning in 2018, CRLAF is proud to offer more robust removal defense services throughout the Central Valley and Northern California. Click here for more information about CRLAF's Removal Defense Representation. To reach the Citizenship + Immigration Project, please call and leave a voicemail on our message line (916) 446-7901.

  • DONAR | crlafoundation

    DONAR Únase al movimiento para garantizar la dignidad y la justicia para todos. ________________________________________________________________ Programa de sonrisa de Amazon ¡Si compra en Amazon, puede asegurarse fácilmente de que una parte de lo que gasta se dona automáticamente a nuestra organización! Simplemente haga clic en la imagen de Sonrisa para correcto, complete un proceso de registro simple, ¡y CRLAF recibirá una parte de cada dólar en compras calificadas que realice en su sitio web! Declaración de derechos del donante Eres nuestro socio y valoramos tu contribución. CRLAF abraza la Declaración de derechos de la Asociación de profesionales de recaudación de fondos. CONOZCA A NUESTROS SOCIOS

  • CRLAF 2018 Impact Report

    Your 2019 Impact Report SEE THE IMPACT OF YOUR DONATION Hover over each block to learn more. Workers' RIGHTS Advocacy represented 1,420 low-wage Workers in class action litigation DACA 350+ Dreamers Applied for DACA Renewal Anti-TRAFFICKING Education and outreach 1,428 Farm workers learned to identify signs of trafficking and where to find help Bills Sponsored and Enacted into law 9 bills to expand affordable housing, protect workers' rights & immigrant rights. Clean Drinking Water 790 people in 2 farmworker towns received clean drinking water $4,250,000 stolen Wages recovered for low-wage workers Undocu-ally trainings 425+ Educators & service providers trained on how to better support immigrant students & families Rapid Response Networks 2 Rapid Response networks established, serving Sacramento & San Joaquin Valley know your rights 3,500 people reached Emergency Family Safety Plans 435+ mixed status families received legal counsel on how to prepare safety plans in case of ICE enforcement Citizenship 200+ people applied for Citizenship Pesticide & community Safety Advocacy to end use of 2 toxic pesticides. Achieve greater enforcement of Pesticide Use restrictions. increase protections for pesticide handlers & fieldworkers

  • JUNTA DIRECTIVA | crlafoundation

    JUNTA DIRECTIVA Virginia Villegas, Esq., Chair The Villegas Law Firm, APC Christine Brigagliano, Esq., Vice-Chair Van Der Hout, Brigagliano & Nightingale, LLP Manuel Magaña Farm Worker (Retired) Richard M. Pearl, Esq. Law Offices of Richard M. Pearl Jessica Stender, Esq. Equal Rights Advocates Ricardo Torres, Treasurer Partner at The Capital Group Companies (retired) José Olivera Meta Silvia Garcia, Esq. In Memoriam (1968-2012) CRLA Foundation’s dedicated staff provides essential and crucial services to farmworkers and their families, who have been especially hard hit during the COVID-29 pandemic. Farmworkers risk their lives everyday to put food on our tables by working in hazardous conditions, including pesticide exposure, heat stress, lack of shade, and often lacking clean drinking water. Further, despite being such essential workers, farmworkers are paid low wages, lack health insurance, and even lack access to preventive care. -Virginia Villegas, Board Chair Working with farmworker communities is important, because for me, these people are my abuelos, padres, tios, tias, primos and primas. They are familia and you always take care of familia. -Ruben Chavez, Former Board Member

  • ABOGADO DE VIVIENDA | crlafoundation

    ABOGACIA DE VIVIENDAS RURALES El Proyecto de Vivienda se centra en la aplicación de políticas en la legislatura estatal que garanticen que las familias rurales de bajos ingresos y los trabajadores agrícolas tengan acceso a viviendas seguras y asequibles. Abogamos por políticas de vivienda asequible más fuertes en todo California, con un enfoque en la defensa legislativa y regulatoria en nombre de los pobres de las zonas rurales. CRLAF’s Rural Housing Project works with partners to successfully expand funding in the state budget for farmworker housing, such as the Joe Serna Farmworker Housing Grant Program. Finally, the Project co-sponsors a biennial Housing Summit with Western Center on Law and Poverty (WCLP). This two-day event in the state Capitol brings together legal services advocates and community groups to discuss issues impacting our client communities and develop potential solutions, including shared priorities for each upcoming legislative session. CRLAF’s Recently Sponsored and P assed Housing Legislation 2022: AB 1654 (Rivas): CRLAF co-sponsored with California Coalition for Rural Housing, requires that whenever the state augments the main tax credit, at least 5% or $25M (whichever is less) is automatically set aside for farmworker housing. AB 2339 (Bloom): CRLAF co-sponsored with WCLP and the Public Interest Law Project, closes loopholes in existing Housing Element law requiring cities and counties adopt plans for how they will meet the housing needs of low-income households, including the unsheltered. AB 2597 (Bloom, Garcia): CRLAF co-sponsored with Western Center on Law and Poverty, CLP, Inner City Law Center, Leadership Council, and Regional Asthma Management and Prevention. AB 2597 proposed to update the state's habitability standards to ensure that all rental units have a means of maintaining a safe indoor air temperature regardless of the temperature outside. When the bill passed the Assembly Appropriations committee, it was stripped of key provisions, and the author decided not to move the bill further. CRLAF and the other sponsors worked to have a similar policy included in the budget climate package which provides $5M to the state Department of Housing and Community Development to develop recommendations to the legislature for establishing and implementing a maximum indoor air temperature in rental housing. 2021 SB 510 (Pan): gives local governments the discretion to consider the opinions of mobile homeowners in weighing a conversion, and to protect them from forced conversions. AB 838 (Friedman): CRLAF co-sponsored with Western Center on Law and Poverty, which prohibits local code enforcement programs from refusing to inspect substandard housing. AB 1304 (Santiago): strengthens requirements for cities and counties to analyze and proactively address fair housing issues in local housing plans as part of their obligation to affirmatively further fair housing (AFFH). AFFH means that government entities must take active steps to dismantle segregation, foster inclusive communities, create equal housing opportunities, address disinvestment in low-income neighborhoods, and protect residents from displacement. AB 1304 builds on prior legislation, AB 686 (Santiago) from 2018, which required public agencies, including state and local government entities, to affirmatively further fair housing in all housing and community development-related activities. AB 1398 (Bloom): helps to ensure timely adoption of locally adopted housing plans, known as the Housing Element, and increases the consequences for local governments who ignore the law and fail to adopt a state-approved Housing Element on time. Through many years of legislative advocacy, CRLAF helped create the detailed requirements in this area of the law, which provides tools at the local level to break down barriers to housing for low-income families, including farmworkers and other rural households. 2020 AB 3088 (Chiu): CRLAF had played a lead role in negotiating this bill, which first enacted limits for evicting tenants for nonpayment of rent related to COVID-19 related hardships in August, 2020. SB 91 (Chiu): extended AB 3088 protections from February 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022, and included provisions for how the state would expend several billion dollars in rental assistance from the federal government. CRLAF helped convene a coalition of tenant and consumer advocates and attorneys, which collaboration led to the creation of a platform of recommendations to provide protections from eviction and protect tenants from consumer debt. AB 832 (Chiu): CRLAF’s advocacy with legislative leaders and the administration resulted in the incorporation of several elements of our platform into this eviction protection extension including greater program accessibility. CRLAF was also a key supporter in advocating for changes and improvements to the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). AB 2782 (Stone): CRLAF co-sponsored with the Golden State Manufactured-Home Owners League (GSMOL), our second attempt to enact protections for homeowners living in manufactured housing communities that face closure. The bill gives local governments stronger authority to turn down a proposed closure, and ensures that homeowners who are displaced receive the fair market value of their home as compensation.

  • 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

bottom of page