June 2010 -- The unemployment rate is increasing in the state of Ohio, and Legal Aid is facing growing demands for assistance with unemployment cases. A recent neighborhood Brief Advice and Referral Clinic focusing on employment issues drew more than seventy people in two hours - double the average for similar Legal Aid clinics.
Legal Aid helps resolve unemployment issues in a variety of ways: in addition to providing representation by a senior staff attorney, Legal Aid refers cases to the Cleveland-Marshall School of Law Employment Law Clinic and has developed pro se materials for clients to use on their own.
Anita Myerson, staff attorney in Legal Aid's Health Education Work Income and Immigration Unit, works closely with the Volunteer Lawyers Program to find additional help from the private bar. Employment questions become more urgent in a difficult economy. Some employers, anxious to cut personnel costs, are finding trivial reasons to terminate employees (rather than lay them off) and avoid paying unemployment benefits.
Ms. Myerson cites a recent case where a supermarket employee was fired due to an honest pricing error in the seafood department. Legal Aid was able to prove his wrongful termination and secure benefits. Ms. Myerson explains why helping the unemployed is so necessary: "If people get some income, they may still be able to make their mortgage payment. They can stay in their house. It alleviates the need for them to be involved in foreclosure, bankruptcy, or other consumer issues."
Cleveland-Marshall law students are also helping people secure income through the school's Unemployment Law Clinic. Third year student Maryland Ubaid recently took a case from Legal Aid, and with faculty supervision, was able to restore benefits for a former auto worker. She calls working at the clinic "an experience we would never have in the classroom," and adds, "It's a perfect situation - we're learning and helping people who would be underrepresented."
Legal Aid's pro se materials include advice letters for people at the hearing level, an appeal process outline and a community education brochure called, "What to Do if You Lose Your Job," which provides steps necessary to secure unemployment compensation after termination and offers other helpful information for the recently unemployed.
Beyond establishing strategies for individual cases, Legal Aid attorneys are working to identify systemic problems which may create bottlenecks for benefit applicants. Recently, a letter was sent by an unemployment agency to notify applicants of an office closing and refer them to an alternate office. Clients began to contact Legal Aid to say they were unable to reach the new office, and they were worried about missing the strict appeal deadlines. As similar complaints piled up, Ms. Myerson realized the letter listed a non-existent fax number. She alerted the agency, which corrected the issue. She notes, "[The agencies] want to operate a system that works and don't want people facing pitfalls."
To get involved in Legal Aid's effort to help the unemployed, please contact Legal Aid's Volunteer Lawyers Program at probono@lasclev.org.