Workers' Rights by Industry
Every job carries its own risks. Teachers face violence in the classroom and contaminated school buildings. Nurses lift patients and are exposed to blood-borne pathogens. Hotel housekeepers, warehouse staff, farmworkers and car-wash workers do repetitive, physically punishing work, often for low pay.
GEKLAW has represented workers from nearly every industry in Southern California, many of them union members. These articles look at the hazards of specific occupations and at the rights every worker shares. That includes access to California workers’ compensation benefits regardless of immigration status.
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All 23 articles
- Bringing Awareness to the Injustices Faced by FarmworkersGEKLAW joins the fight against injustices faced by farmworkers by supporting and raising awareness for National Farmworker Awareness Week.
- Striking a Chord with Justice for Teachers and StudentsUnited Teachers Los Angeles leaders unveil 'Our New Deal for Public Schools' to build on their 2019 strike victory and improve education for all.
- Unique Factors Impact the Safety of Older Women WorkersGEKLAW explains how biological, ergonomic, and workplace factors uniquely impact the safety of older women workers and how employers can help reduce risk.
- Linemen—The Real "Power Players"GEKLAW attorney Richard Felton honors the courage of electrical linemen—those who risk their lives in dangerous conditions to keep the power on for California communities.
- UTLA Gears Up to Form a United Front to Protect the Rights of Teachers and StudentsUTLA leaders organized to defend teachers, students, public education, and safer working conditions as Los Angeles schools faced privatization pressures and staffing cuts.
- Warehouse Workers Face Hazardous ConditionsWarehouse workers are subject to many hazardous conditions that lead to a wide variety of on-the-job injuries, including fatal ones.
- UTLA Continues to Organize for Power…TogetherUTLA organized teachers, parents, and communities around public education, workplace safety, and educational justice while GEKLAW attorneys supported injured teachers and workers' compensation rights.
- California's Workplace Laws Cover All Injured Employees Regardless of immigration statusCalifornia law protects all workers—regardless of immigration status. Learn how state labor and workers' compensation laws bar inquiries into status.
- New Law Prohibits Discrimination of Workers' Compensation Benefits Based on Immigration StatusSB 623 ensures that workers cannot be excluded from receiving UEBTF or SIBTF workers' compensation benefits based on their citizenship or immigration status.
- Workers' Compensation Benefits Apply to AllAll California workers are entitled to Workers' Compensation benefits regardless of their legal status in this country. In fact, California law states that all protections, rights, and remedies under state law are available to all individuals regardless of immigration status who work or have worked in this state.
- Nurses, Attorneys and Unions Push to Obtain Benefits for Healthcare WorkersIf AB 2616 becomes law, MRSA infections would be presumed work-related injuries for nurses and healthcare workers, expediting workers' compensation benefits.
- Hotel Worker Suffers Brain Hemorrhage After a 14-Hour "Work Day"GEKLAW attorney David Goldstein represents a hotel dishwasher who suffered a brain hemorrhage after a 14-hour shift—an example of abusive work conditions.
- Women's Caucus Tackles Gender Bias in Workers’ Compensation IssuesWomen's Caucus focuses in on workplace injuries that predominately affect female workers.
- The proposed workers' compensation legislation would harm teachers and school employees who are injured and cannot return to their jobsProposed California workers' compensation legislation would reduce permanent disability compensation for teachers and school employees who cannot return to work after serious injuries.
- Exploring the Painful Truth for Healthcare WorkersInjured at a hospital or clinic? See how California workers' compensation protects nurses and how GEKLAW helps RNs, LVNs, and CNAs secure benefits.
- A Big Win for the "Little Guy"A hotel housekeeper's repetitive-motion injury case: what the court awarded and how GEKLAW helps injured workers secure fair workers' comp benefits.
- Understanding the Need for a Domestic Workers' Bill of RightsAttorney Alvaro Lizarraga discusses AB 889, California's proposed Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights, and the urgent need for fair labor protections and benefits.
- Hispanic Workers Face More Dangerous ConditionsBLS and FACE data show Hispanic workers face higher fatality risks. Why language, training, and safety enforcement matter—and how GEKLAW supports workers.
- Hotel Housekeepers Get off Your Knees and Straighten Your BacksAttorney Adam Dombchik of GEKLAW calls for safer working conditions for hotel housekeepers through Senate Bill 432, requiring fitted sheets and long-handled mops.
- Law Firm Supports Senate Bill Designed To Help Hotel HousekeepersGEKLAW supports Senate Bill 432, which calls for fitted sheets and long-handled cleaning tools to reduce injuries among California hotel housekeepers.
- GEK Attorneys Discuss the Impact of Violence on TeachersGEKLAW attorneys discuss the impact of school violence on teachers, including workplace trauma, stress injuries, cumulative trauma claims, and workers' compensation rights for educators.
- Law Firm Represents Injured Teachers as They Face Unprecedented ChallengesCalifornia teachers face toxic exposures, workplace violence, repetitive motion injuries, and stress-related conditions. GEKLAW explains workers' compensation rights for injured educators.
- Union Members Rally Their Support Around Carwash Workers and Their Efforts to UnionizeThe union carwash event was organized by the Los Angeles County Federal of Labor, the CLEAN Carwash Campaign and the California Labor Federation.
