Federal funding to Legal Services NYC is being slashed by more than $8 million annually. Exacerbating these funding cuts, our health insurance costs are the highest among comparable organizations in the City.

This combination of funding cuts and high health insurance expenses forced us to reduce staff by 40 people in 2012. Unless we take action to reduce costs now, we will be forced to make many more layoffs by the end of 2014. Given these tight financial circumstances, we believe that our offer to the union is responsible to our mission: to save jobs so that we can provide the most services that we can for low-income New Yorkers; and to ensure that our staffs’ jobs are competitively compensated.

We have met with the union negotiating team repeatedly during the last two weeks, and will continue to meet regularly until we come to agreement so our union members can return to work as soon as possible.

LSNYC Employees:

We have heard that there are some questions about the status of your health insurance. As we notified the union leadership prior to the strike vote and as was discussed in staff meetings and with delegates in a number of local offices, our health care plan only covers employees who are in “active service.” You are in active service “if you are performing the regular duties of your job on a full-time basis…” Since employees on strike are not in active service, they are not covered by our contracts. This does not apply to people who are on pre-approved leave (FMLA, etc.), for whom coverage continues.

We are required to send Travers O’keefe, our plan administrator, a list of active employees at the end of each month, which we did at the end of May. Health coverage under all plans can be continued without interruption if you elect COBRA within the permitted time period. Travers O’keefe has just sent out details about this option which you should receive this week.

We encourage employees with any questions or concerns about the health care coverage to contact Travers O’keefe at the numbers they provide. You should also feel free to contact Kirsten Soberanis, our Director of Human Resources and Diversity, at (646) 442-3559.

(Above: Rep. Hakeem Jeffries with tenants of 2770 West 33rd Street and advocates from Legal Services NYC and Brooklyn Jubilee)

April 5, 2013, Brooklyn, NY—Tenants and advocates in Coney Island today announced legal action against a landlord who has failed to repair an elevator damaged by Superstorm Sandy, leaving several disabled and mobility-impaired tenants effectively stranded in their apartments for months.

Civil Rights Action Filed on Behalf of Limited English Proficient New Yorkers
March 21, 2013, New York, NY—Legal Services NYC announced today that it has initiated a civil rights action against the NYPD regarding their routine discrimination against immigrant New Yorkers who seek police assistance in times of crisis.  This lawsuit is brought in Federal court on behalf of five limited English proficient (LEP) survivors of domestic violence and crime victims who have been denied interpretation by the NYPD, and thus denied access to vital police services, all in violation of federal and City laws.

(Above: LSNYC Client Arlet Macareno speaks at a press conference announcing the suit. Photo credit: Anthony Navarrete)

March 19th, 2013, New York, NY—Legal Services NYC-Bronx and Queens Legal Services today announced the filing of a new federal lawsuit that seeks to reform the New York City Housing Authority’s treatment of domestic violence victims who are seeking emergency public housing in order to escape from their abusers.

March 5, 2013, New York, NY—The NYS Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department, today reversed two of its own prior decisions and held that prevailing parties in New York State can collect legal fees under the "catalyst theory", unlike federal litigants who are bound by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Buckhannon. The decision was a major victory which will help to alleviate the crisis caused by the lack of availability of counsel to represent low-income New Yorkers. The petitioner was represented by Peter Kempner of South Brooklyn Legal Services, a program of Legal Services NYC.

March 5, 2013, New York, NY—Manhattan Legal Services Senior Staff Attorney Julia Rosner filed a complaint with the Department of Labor to obtain unpaid wages for our client, Mr. H, in 2006, and has advocated vigorously on his behalf for the past six years. Mr. H was a delivery man for a supermarket which advertised free delivery services on its bags and elsewhere. The employer had Mr. H bag groceries as he waited for delivery orders, but never paid him an hourly wage in the six years he worked there. Customers often tipped him with food stamps.