Women’s Employment Rights Clinic
The Women’s Employment Rights Clinic (WERC) of Golden Gate University School of Law was established in 1993. It served as a training ground for the next generation of ethical, competent, and socially responsible professionals and provided critical legal services and support to the community. The Clinic’s mission was centered on ensuring that every worker had the right to economic fairness, equal opportunity, and dignity in the workplace. Our mission was to collaborate with grassroots, community-based organizations, and worker centers to enhance their capacity for systemic change. Our individual and impact cases were informed and coordinated in partnership with broader community campaigns for economic justice.
Note: In the Spring of 2026, the clinic was closed, but its work continues on!
This toolkit is designed to educate families and professionals who hire caregivers to work in private homes. The videos and handouts will help you navigate the complex maze of state and federal laws to set conditions of employment, including hours, pay and benefits, that are legally compliant.
Handouts
- Overtime Flowchart (English, Tagalog, Spanish, Chinese)
- Pay FAQS (English, Tagalog, Spanish, Chinese)
- Terminating Caregiver (English, Tagalog, Spanish, Chinese)
- Employer Obligations (English, Tagalog, Spanish, Chinese)
Videos
- Am I an Employer (English, Tagalog, Spanish, Mandarin)
- Hiring Through Homecare Agency (English, Tagalog, Spanish, Mandarin)
- Hiring Directly (English, Tagalog, Spanish, Mandarin)
- Pay (English, Tagalog, Spanish, Mandarin)
- Additional Obligations (English, Tagalog, Spanish, Mandarin)
Trainings
In November 2023, with the support of the Metta fund, WERC hosted a training for legal advocates on representing domestic and residential care workers. Please find the training PowerPoint below:
In September 2023, with the support of the Metta fund, WERC hosted a series of trainings on how to hire a caregiver. Please find the training materials below:
- How to Hire a Caregiver 101 (English/Tagalog, English/Chinese, English/Spanish)
WERC, with a staff of 12 law students and two supervising attorneys/professors, provided approximately 4,000 pro bono hours each academic year representing low-wage workers. We trained our students to understand their role as problem-solvers in collaboration and in partnership with the community, through a rigorous pedagogy around client and community centered lawyering. Our students gained valuable litigation experience representing low-wage workers before administrative agencies like the Labor Commissioner and the Department of Fair Employment and Housing and in court. Through education, empowerment, litigation and policy reform, WERC was at the forefront of strengthening and expanding protections for low-wage workers.
DIRECT LEGAL SERVICES AND LITIGATION
Each year, WERC students and attorneys represented numerous workers in their individual and collective actions against employers. Since the clinic’s inception, we successfully restored close to $10 million dollars to low-wage workers. We represented workers in various industries including domestic work, residential facilities, restaurants, retail, and janitorial. With the exception of workers compensation cases, the Clinic focused on all employment matters including wage theft, discrimination including pregnancy discrimination, harassment and retaliation, family leave and unemployment compensation.
POLICY ADVOCACY
Since the 1990s, domestic workers in California have mobilized a grassroots, worker-led statewide movement for equal treatment under the law. WERC was a steadfast ally, serving as legal counsel to the California Domestic Workers Coalition since 2010, in its effort to expand workplace protections for this vulnerable and indispensable workforce. The Clinic drafted and/or provided technical and legal guidance to the Coalition in it’s passage of the following bills:
- SB 321 – Employment Safety Standards, advisory committee, household domestic service, Signed by Governor (September 2021) (advisory committee to make recommendations and guidelines for expanding health and safety standards for domestic workers)
- SB 2314 – The Domestic Work Rights Implementation Act, Signed by Governor (August 2019) (provides budget appropriation to increase resources for enforcement of domestic worker laws)
- SB 1015 – Domestic Worker Employee, Labor Standards, Signed by Governor, (Sep. 12, 2016) (making overtime rights permanent for domestic workers)
- AB 241 – Domestic Worker Employee, Labor Standards, Signed by Governor, (Sept. 23, 2013) (expanding overtime protections to domestic workers who were historically excluded)
Residential Care Sector:
At WERC, we believed that a key missing piece in the ongoing dialogue and advocacy on caregiving is workers’ rights. We issued a policy report in 2017 report, Understaffed and Overworked: Poor Working Conditions and Quality of Care in Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly, linking the exploitative nature of working conditions in Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFE) to poor quality of care and life outcomes for residents.
Working conditions are an integral and essential component to older adults’ well-being. We were members of the strategic enforcement partnership with the Labor Commissioner. In addition, we explored broader public policy advocacy to address the widespread noncompliance with basic labor standards.
CAREGIVER REPORT
The Coalition for a Fair and Equitable Caregiving Industry released a policy report Understaffed and Overworked: Poor Working Conditions and Quality of Care in Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly, which links poor working conditions in Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly with quality of care issues. Professor Hina Shah of the Women’s Employment Rights Clinic authored the report.
The United States is experiencing unprecedented growth in its elderly population. As Americans live longer and cope with chronic health conditions, the need for long term services and support has increased. Working conditions are an integral and essential component to residents’ well-being. Quality of care and life in RCFEs cannot be improved without incorporating an effective strategy to improve the working conditions of caregivers.
Caregivers Victoria Aquino and Lea Nelson along with Terry Valen from the Filipino Community Center discuss working conditions that caregivers face in Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly at the launch of the policy report on May 16, 2017.
NEWS COVERAGE OF THE REPORT
Workers at Care Facilities Not Paid Minimum Wage or OT, report says, San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Workers-at-care-facilities-not-paid-minimum-wage-11151171.php
Study Exposes Troubling Conditions In CA Care Facilities, New American Media
http://newamericamedia.org/2017/05/the-real-financial-costs-of-caregiving.php
Press Release: Coalition for Fair and Equitable Caregiving Industry Releases Report
WERC authors reported on working conditions in residential care facilities for Coalition for Fair and Equitable Caregiving Industry. Read the Press Release.
The Coalition For a Fair and Equitable Caregiving Industry is made up of legal service providers, worker centers, unions, community-based nonprofit organizations, and consumer advocates who are invested in reforming the caregiving industry to ensure that workers and consumers of care receive fair and equitable treatment. The Coalition included the following organizations: Asian Americans Advancing Justice — Asian Law Caucus, Consumer Advocates for RCFE Reform, Filipino Advocates for Justice, Filipino Community Center, Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center, Legal Aid at Work, Pilipino Association of Workers and Immigrants, Pilipino Workers Center, Santa Clara County Wage Theft Coalition, SEIU Local 2015, and Women’s Employment Rights Clinic of Golden Gate University School of Law.
EDUCATION, EMPOWERMENT, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
WERC developed multi-lingual training materials and programs for workers, organizers, community-based staff, legal advocates and government agencies.
- Developed Know Your Rights materials including for domestic workers, caregivers
- Developed Train the Trainers workshop for CA Domestic Workers Coalition
- Trained low-wage worker legal advocates
- Trained investigators and attorneys on the residential care sector at the Labor Commissioner’s Office and California Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
- Provides technical assistance to worker advocates on litigating domestic work and residential care cases
Phone: 415-442-7800
E-mail: info@ggu.edu
WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS CLINIC
Golden Gate University School of Law
536 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
If you are a former client and would like access to your client file, please contact Golden Gate University at info@ggu.edu or (415) 442-7000.
CLINIC ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Students always wonder if there is life after the Clinic and Golden Gate. Below are some spotlights:
NIKIA SCHULTZ
Nikia Schultz (Class of ‘21) is a Legal Graduate on the Eviction Defense Project (EDP) at Legal Services of Northern California (LSNC). The mission of LSNC is “to empower the poor to identify and defeat the causes and effects of poverty within their communities.” I represent clients in eviction lawsuits and other housing matters across 23 counties in Northern California. My role focuses on eviction defense, appeals, community legal education, impact litigation, and advocacy. Regarding what she gained from the clinic, she says, “The clinic experience gave me the confidence and skills to take on this litigation-focused role with my current organization. I learned valuable skills for client-centered lawyering and general case management, while gaining hands-on experience by working on serious cases during the clinic.”
Her advice for current law students is: If I could go back and tell myself anything during law school, I would say, “Talk to your professors as much as possible. Ask the questions, discuss, complain, and celebrate. They are always there for support. They truly want to see you succeed.”
CHRISELLE RAGURO
Chriselle Raguro (Class of ‘15) is the Executive Director of the Filipino Community Development Corporation, whose mission is to prevent the displacement of the Filipino community in SF’s SOMA and Tenderloin neighborhoods by advocating for affordable housing and access to resources, grassroots community organizing, and capacity-building of low-income residents. She credits her time in WERC with teaching her how to have a collaborative relationship with her clients and the community. At WERC, she learned that the role of a legal advocate is not just to win cases, but to make space for, bolster, protect, and build power for the people.
Her advice for current law students is: People want to see you succeed, so don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Respect your boundaries. Adjust your pace instead of your purpose – you’re not in law school to win, you’re there to learn.
JULIE A.K. CUMMINGS
Julie A.K. Cummings (Class of ‘16) is an attorney advisor with the Social Security Administration with the Honolulu Office of Hearings Operations, where she drafts legal decisions for administrative law judges (ALJ) presiding over disability determinations, analyze and review evidence, and advise the ALJs in complex legal issues. While in the WERC, Julie represented a low-income worker at a hearing before the Labor Commissioner. She credits her experiences at WERC with helping her become a better version of herself in the legal profession. She says: “I learned from one of the best – Professor Hina Shah. She was passionate about her work and detail-oriented, both traits that served me well and that I tried to emulate.”
Her advice for current law students is: To chill a little because things will all work out. I was pretty intense.
WERC Trains Uber/Lyft Drivers on AB 5
On January 27, 2020 WERC student Taylor Massie and Professors Hina Shah and Anna Kirsch co-facilitated a presentation for Uber, Lyft and other app-based drivers on their rights under Assembly Bill 5 with Partnership for Working Families and Gig Workers Rising. For too long employers have exploited workers by misclassifying them as independent contractors, driving income inequality and diminishing worker power. AB 5 guarantees that workers are properly classified so they have basic labor protections, such as minimum wage, overtime and safety net benefits. A recent study found that Uber drivers are making less than the minimum wage after deducting fees Uber charges and out of pocket expenses such as vehicle maintenance. https://www.epi.org/files/pdf/145552.pdf
Investigative Reporting: Rampant Wage Theft in Residential Care Homes
Reveal — the Center for Investigative Reporting has done a two-day series on rampant wage theft in senior care facilities in California and throughout the Country. The Clinic has tirelessly advocated on behalf of these workers for over a decade in litigation and policy matters. We are excited about this coverage — which runs in the Washington Post, New York Times, & U.S. News and World Report and the podcast will run on 450+ public radio stations across the country. We’re hoping to use this coverage to push for some legislative and regulatory changes.
- California Regulators Not Taking Action Against Care Homes
- Elder Care Homes Rake In Profits As Workers Earn a Pittance
MCLE Training on Implicit Bias in Employment
Prof. Shah will be conducting an MCLE Training on Implicit Bias in Employment sponsored by the Aids Legal Referral Panel and the State Bar Labor & Employment Section on Thursday, November 29, 2018 at the Bar Association of San Francisco.
Professor Shah speaks about immigration relief for undocumented workers who are victims of crime with Bloomberg Law.
(Reproduced with permission. Published July 5, 2018. Copyright 2018 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) http://www.bna.com)
Professor Hina Shah has been appointed to the California Lawyers Association Labor & Employment Law Executive Committee.
Professor Hina Shah, Director of the Women’s Employment Rights Clinic, has been appointed to the California Lawyers Association Labor & Employment Law Executive Committee https://calawyers.org/Labor-and-Employment-Law. Members of the executive committee organize and lead the section’s publications and programs, which include the California Labor and Employment Law Review and a radio program broadcast on KALW, called “Your Legal Rights” which Professor Shah has been a guest on.
Professor Hina Shah blogs on the recent Dynamex Operations West v. Superior Court for the American Constitution Society.
Read the blog here.
WERC submits amicus brief in Troester v. Starbucks Corporation, Inc. on behalf of low-wage worker advocates
The California Supreme Court will hold oral arguments in Troester on May 1, 2018. The Court will decide whether California employers can avoid paying workers for up to 10 minutes of work per day. A ruling in this case will greatly impact California’s 4.7 million low-income workers who cannot afford to forgo a single dollar of their earnings.
- Press Release: Read the Press Release.
- Amicus Brief: Read the Amicus Brief.
Press Release:
WERC clients successfully recover their full award with the help of the Labor Commissioner. WERC students represented the clients in their successful Labor Commissioner hearing.
Court Grants Preliminary Injunction in Germick et al. v. Mission Beach Café
On June 1, 2017, a San Francisco Superior Court judge granted a preliminary injunction in Germick et al. v. Mission Beach Café et. al, requiring that Defendants immediately cease violating several labor laws by timely paying workers all earned wages, issuing paychecks with sufficient funds, and issuing legally sufficient paystubs. Read the Order here.
WERC along with co-counsel at Legal Aid at Work, represents the nine Plaintiffs, who are current and former employees at Mission Beach Café in San Francisco. WERC students assisted in the drafting of the motion and the numerous declarations that were filed. The workers’ lawsuit, which alleges significant labor code violations, was filed in March 2017 and is pending.
Mission Beach Café Sued for Non-compliance With Basic Labor Standards
WERC represents nine current and former employees of Mission Beach Café, who filed a lawsuit alleging among other things that they are unable to cash their paychecks due to insufficient funds, not paid regularly, and not usually given paystubs.
- http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Mission-Beach-Cafe-sued-by-workers-claiming-wage-11031485.php
Workers at Care Facilities Not Paid Minimum Wage or OT, report says, San Francisco Chronicle
- http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Workers-at-care-facilities-not-paid-minimum-wage-11151171.php
Study Exposes Troubling Conditions In CA Care Facilities, New American Media
Press Release: Coalition for Fair and Equitable Caregiving Industry Releases Report
WERC authors report on working conditions in residential care facilities for Coalition for Fair and Equitable Caregiving Industry.
Court Grants Final Approval of Class Action Settlement in Rogers, et al. v. Kindred Healthcare, Inc., et al.
On October 7, 2016, the Alameda County Superior Court granted final approval of a $2.465 million settlement in Rogers, et al. v. Kindred Healthcare, Inc., et al., a class action alleging that Defendants failed to pay Personal Care Attendants the required minimum and straight time wages and overtime premiums, did not provide them with required meal and rest breaks when they worked in licensed healthcare facilities, and failed to issue legally compliant paystubs.
The class includes approximately 2,700 Personal Care Attendants who worked for Defendants Kindred Healthcare, Inc., Professional Healthcare at Home, LLC or NP Plus, LLC in California between June 18, 2010 and April 1, 2016.
Plaintiffs are represented by the Women’s Employment Rights Clinic, Golden Gate University School of Law, with co-counsel Feinberg, Jackson, Worthman & Wasow and the Legal Aid Society — Employment Law Center. For additional information about the settlement, contact Hina Shah.
