Our Mission

The Center for WorkLife Law is an advocacy and research organization at UC Hastings Law that seeks to advance racial, gender, and class equity. At WorkLife Law, we address inequality at a structural level by developing and implementing concrete, evidence-based interventions in schools and workplaces and changing public policy at the state and national levels. We are extremely strategic in how we approach each structural intervention, forging partnerships with grassroots groups and field experts to identify the best change levers to tackle the problem at hand. With our interventions, we aim to produce dramatic changes within a two to five year timeframe. Our main areas of impact are economic security, maternal & child health, education equity, and racial and gender justice in the workplace. Throughout the pandemic, our team has also mobilized a COVID-19 emergency response, applying our legal expertise to help protect workers’ rights during the crisis.

 

These are just some of the problems that U.S. workers currently face. At the Center for WorkLife Law, we intervene on these problems through both systems-level change and individual interventions.

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WorkLife Law News

WorkLife Law Testifies in California Senate on Establishing Equitable Access to SDI

WorkLife Law Staff Attorney Juliana Franco shared her expertise with the California Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee on steps the California Employment Development Department (EDD) could take to improve access to paid leave. Last year, California passed a bill to increase the wage replacement rate for the State Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave programs in 2025, making it more affordable for all workers to take the leave they need to bond with a new child, to care for a seriously ill family member, or for their own health. Now in the implementation stage, Juliana’s testimony addressed current barriers hindering access for low-wage and undocumented workers that the EDD should consider as the agency transitions to a new benefits system. 

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WorkLife Law Welcomes New Executive Assistant & Office Manager

Francesca Bavaro

We are pleased to welcome Francesca Bavaro as our new Executive Assistant & Office Manager at the Center for WorkLife Law. Francesca will manage the administrative operations of the organization and provide executive support to the Center’s Founding Director.

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Renewed Grant Guarantees Resources For Pregnant & Nursing Farmworkers

With many thanks to The Schmidt Family Foundation for renewed support, WorkLife Law will continue advancing reproductive justice for farmworkers through our collaborative initiative Dar a Luz: Legal Rights for Farmworkers in Pregnancy and Postpartum. Continued support will allow WorkLife Law and the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) to empower thousands of farmworking families.

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