Description:
About the Work:Most of the Staff Attorney's work will focus on employment law and litigation in both state and federal courts. Cases include wage theft, discrimination, human trafficking, unsafe working conditions, and retaliation.
TRLA's prior litigation has included claims under:
- Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (AWPA)
- Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
- Federal H-2A program
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
- Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA)
- 42 U.S.C. 1981 and 42 U.S.C. 1983
- State laws involving contracts, wage-and-hour violations, torts, and workers' compensation disputes.
Attorneys also represent workers in federal and state administrative processes, including filing complaints with the U.S. Department of Labor, EEOC and OSHA, and filing immigration petitions (such as T and U visa applications) on behalf of survivors of trafficking or other crimes.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
- Serve as lead counsel or co-counsel in all aspects of civil litigation, including complex wage and hour litigation, multi-party employment discrimination, and human trafficking cases
- Conduct outreach and perform intakes to identify farmworker clients across multiple states
- Collaborate with regional partners, federal agencies, and private counsel
- Handle all matters of representation in administrative and court forums
Overnight travel for outreach or cases is regularly required, although TRLA pays per diem and other travel-related expenses.
TRLA gives new lawyers substantial litigation and outreach responsibilities from day-one, but new staff practice under the close guidance of seasoned TRLA farmworker attorneys. TRLA staff collaborate closely with those in TRLA's other 17+ offices, along with co-counseling with other legal aid programs, including participating in outreach and litigation in various parts of Texas and other states.