Displaced Workers
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The Displaced Workers Practice Area represents workers in the contract sewing and garment industry who have employment-related cases, including wage claims, employment discrimination, work-related injuries, violations of federal labor laws, wrongful discharge, and access to unemployment benefits and state and local job training benefits.
Attorneys
| Name | Office |
| Alpha Hernandez | Del Rio |
| Alberto Mesta Jr. | El Paso |
| Carmen Rodriguez , TM | El Paso |
| Jerome W. Wesevich | El Paso |
Paralegals
| Name | Office |
Laws
- Employment Law: An Overviewprovides access to federal and state statutes, regulations, and court decisions. Courtesy of the Cornell Legal Information Institute
- Unemployment Compensation: An Overviewcourtesy of the Cornell LII
- Workplace Safety: An Overviewcourtesy of the Cornell LII
- Workers’ Compensation: An Overviewcourtesy of the Cornell LII
- Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)summary of the 1988 law requiring employers to provide 60 days’ advance notice for covered plant closures and covered mass layoffs. Provided by the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration
- U.S.C. Title 29, Chapter 8 – Fair Labor Standards
- U.S.C. Title 29, Chapter 28- Family and Medical Leave
Federal Agencies
- FirstGov for Workersprovides access to all federal resources for workers and their families
- Department of Labor (DOL)
- Employment Standards Administration (ESA) enforces laws concerning wages and working conditions
- Wage and Hour Divisionenforces laws concerning minimum wages, overtime pay, child labor, and family and medical leave
- Poster Pageprovides downloadable copies of all workplace notices required by the DOL
- Protecting America’s Garment Workers: A Monitoring Guideincludes a summary of the basic workplace protections for garment workers
- Employment and Training Administration (ETA)administers job training and job placement programs through state and local workforce development systems
- Dislocated Workersprovides information about federal, state, and local assistance programs for workers. An employers section of the website provides information about layoff regulations and employer assistance programs
- Layoff, Retraining, and Re-employment Information for Employersincludes Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance (NAFTA-TAA) petition forms and petition determinations
- Trade Act Programsprovides information about federal and state programs to assist individuals unemployed as a result of increasing imports or shifts in production to Canada or Mexico. Includes information about the TAA program and the NAFTA-TAA program
- Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA)sets and enforces laws to ensure the safety of workplaces
- Workers’ Pageprovides information about workers’ and employers’ rights and responsibilities, and instructions for reporting unsafe workplace conditions
- Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA)protects the integrity of pensions, health plans, and other employee benefits
- Protecting Pensions and Health Care Benefits After Job Lossprovides useful information concerning ERISA, COBRA, and other federal programs, as well as links to other benefits publications
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)enforces federal laws prohibiting job discrimination
State Agencies
- Texas Workforce Commission (TWC)
- Unemployment Claims and Appeals Informationprovides information and forms for applying for unemployment insurance and filing UI appeals
- Dislocated Workers’ Programsprovides information about employment and training programs for eligible workers who have been laid off. Includes information about Rapid Response, an early intervention program providing job search assistance and other services in cases of plant closures or mass layoffs affecting more than 50 workers or involving the economic base of a small community
- Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance (NAFTA-TAA)programs that provide training and job search/relocation assistance to individuals who lose their manufacturing jobs due to foreign imports or shifts in production to Canada or Mexico
- Texas Workers Compensation Commission (TWCC)
Legal Resources
- National Employment Law Projectprovides research and advocacy on a broad range of employment issues affecting the working poor and the unemployed
- Unemployment Insurance Safety Net Projectworks to expand access to unemployment insurance by increasing eligibility and tailoring UI to the needs of today’s workforce
- National Lawyers Guild/Maurice and Jane Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justiceadvocates for economic and civil rights for low-wage workers
- Plant Closings Projectprovides information about WARN, WARN cases, and WARN court decisions
- Know Your Rights Under the WARN Acta guide for workers
Research and Statistics
- Displaced Worker Statistics from the Current Population Survey (CPS)a joint project of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of the Census
- Global Policy Networkprovides information on the state of working people in the global economy
Unions
- UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees), AFL-CIOsite provides extensive news and labor organizing information
Advocacy Organizations
- National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justicenetwork of people of faith working to improve wages, benefits, and working conditions for low-wage workers
News
- LaborNetinternet source for labor news and discussions from the U.S. and around the world
Other Helpful Sites
- American Society of Trial Consultantsfind ASTC members nationwide. Site provides contact information, areas of expertise and a link to the consultant’s Web site , if available
- Chilling Effectssite devoted to the legal protection of online speech; addresses topics including fan fiction, copyright and trademark, linking, parody and criticism.
- LegalVote.comsite allows a virtual jury to weigh in on a case after reviewing a summary prepared by the lawyer
- Internet Tools for Lawyershelpful site containing articles, links, how-to guides
- Skipeasesearch tool to find people quickly; research property ownership, Social Security numbers: death, birth and marriage records, professional licenses, etc.
- LexisONEfree court opinions, legal forms
- The Religious Liberty Archivevirtual library of religious freedom law, containing full texts of pertinent U.S. Supreme Court cases since 1815, federal and state laws, treatises, historical materials, news of recent developments and links to related materials.
- Trial Lawyers for Public Justicecurrent descriptions of the TLPJ caseload and a library of its briefs and filings, links to more than 2,000 web resources
- Legal Writing Successweb-based service that connects to a network of lawyers available to perform research, writing, rewriting and editing.