TOWARDS JUSTICE OF COLORADO
1410 HIGH STREET SUITE 300, DENVER, CO 80218 www.towardsjustice.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: TOWARDS JUSTICE IS A NONPROFIT LAW FIRM THAT SEEKS TO ADVANCE ECONOMIC JUSTICE THROUGH IMPACT LITIGATION, STRATEGIC POLICY ADVOCACY, AND COLLABORATION WITH ORGANIZERS AND PUBLIC AGENCIES. WE WERE FOUNDED IN RESPONSE TO THE HIGH VOLUME OF WAGE THEFT COMPLAINTS THAT WERE NOT BEING ADDRESSED IN COLORADO, BUT HAVE SINCE BROADENED OUR SCOPE TO TAKE ON CASES THAT DISMANTLE THE POWER IMBALANCES THAT UNDERMINE THE VALUE OF WORK AND DIMINISH WORKER RIGHTS.

TOWARDS JUSTICE IS A NON-PROFIT LAW FIRM THAT ATTACKS ECONOMIC INEQUALITY WITH A FOCUS ON WORKPLACE ECONOMIC INJUSTICE. WE USE IMPACT LITIGATION TO ADVANCE HUMAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS SUPPLEMENTED WITH TARGETED AND STRATEGIC POLICY ADVOCACY AND COLLABORATION WITH WORKERS AND COMMUNITIES TO ATTACK SYSTEMIC INJUSTICES THAT UNDERMINE THE POWER OF WORKERS-IN PARTICULAR, IMMIGRANT WORKERS AND WORKERS OF COLOR-TO OBTAIN FAIR WAGES AND DECENT WORKING CONDITIONS. IN 2019, TOWARDS JUSTICE HAD SEVERAL SUBSTANTIAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS. MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE (1) OBTAINED A SUBSTANTIAL CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT FOR AROUND 100,000 CHILDCARE WORKERS WORKING IN THE UNITED STATES ON J-1 AU PAIR VISAS, AND (2) WE CONVINCED THE COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT TO MAKE MAJOR MODIFICATIONS TO WHAT HAD BEEN CALLED THE "COLORADO MINIMUM WAGE ORDER" THAT NOW PROVIDES ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF COLORADO WORKERS. OUR SETTLEMENT IN BELTRAN ET AL. V. INTEREXCHANGE ET AL., CAME AFTER YEARS OF LITIGATION THAT WE INITIATED IN 2014 TO ATTACK ALLEGED ABUSES OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS OF CHILDCARE WORKERS WORKING IN THE UNITED STATES ON J-1 AU PAIR VISAS. MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHILE THE J-1 VISA CONTEMPLATES THAT THESE WORKERS COME TO THE UNITED STATES ON A CULTURAL EXCHANGE, WORKERS COMPLAINED TO US THAT THEY WERE REALLY HERE PERFORMING DIFFICULT CHILDCARE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR MORE THAN 40 HOURS A WEEK AND YET WERE DENIED STATE AND FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE. ADDITIONALLY, OUR INVESTIGATION FOUND THAT THESE WORKERS WERE SUBJECT TO A WAGE-FIXING SCHEME UNDER WHICH THE SPONSOR AGENCIES THAT EMPLOY THEM APPARENTLY AGREED TO SET THEIR WAGES AT A FIXED AMOUNT OF JUST UNDER 200 PER WEEK, MEANING THAT THESE WORKERS COULD NOT SHOP AROUND BETWEEN FAMILIES FOR HIGHER WAGES AND BETTER WORKING CONDITIONS. TOWARDS JUSTICE IS FIRMLY COMMITTED TO THE NOTION THAT ONE OF THE CORE CIVIL RIGHTS AFFECTING WORKERS IS THE RIGHT TO OBTAIN DIGNITY IN THE WORKPLACE THROUGH A COMPETITIVE LABOR MARKET. AFTER LITIGATING THIS CASE THROUGH MOTIONS TO DISMISS, CLASS CERTIFICATION, AND SUMMARY JUDGMENT, WE HELPED THE CLASS ACHIEVE A SUBSTANTIAL SETTLEMENT. THAT SETTLEMENT FORCED SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE INDUSTRY. MOST IMPORTANTLY, SPONSOR AGENCIES NOW HAVE TO MAKE CLEAR TO WORKERS AND FAMILIES THAT WORKERS CAN SHOP ON AN OPEN MARKET WHERE FAMILIES CAN PAY THEM WHATEVER THEY PERCEIVE THE VALUE OF THEIR LABOR TO BE, SO LONG AS THEY ARE PAYING AT LEAST MINIMUM WAGE. WE HAVE HEARD ANECDOTALLY THAT THESE CHANGES HAVE ALREADY ALLOWED AU PAIRS TO REAP SUBSTANTIAL BENEFITS. FOR EXAMPLE, WE WILL FILE THIS FORM 990 IN THE MIDST OF A PANDEMIC WHERE CHILDCARE IS EXTRAORDINARILY VALUABLE TO FAMILIES AND AU PAIRS ARE IN HIGH DEMAND. BECAUSE OF OUR LITIGATION, AU PAIRS NOW KNOW THAT THEY CAN BARGAIN FOR HIGHER WAGES AND BETTER TREATMENT, AND IN MANY CASES, AU PAIR PAY HAS INCREASED DRAMATICALLY. ADDITIONALLY, STATES (MOST NOTABLY, MASSACHUSETTS) ARE RELYING ON PRECEDENT WE SET IN OUR CASE TO CONVINCE COURTS IN OTHER CIRCUITS THAT STATE MINIMUM WAGE LAWS APPLIED TO AU PAIRS ARE NOT PREEMPTED BY FEDERAL J-1 RULES. THE CORE MISSION OF TOWARDS JUSTICE'S LITIGATION PROGRAM IS TO ADVANCE THE RIGHTS OF WORKERS BEYOND THE CONTOURS OF A PARTICULAR CASE. THE BELTRAN LITIGATION IS A PERFECT ILLUSTRATION OF THE SUCCESS OF OUR LITIGATION WORK BECAUSE OF ITS BROAD AND BENEFICIAL IMPACT ON THE RIGHTS OF WORKERS IN THE AU PAIR MARKETPLACE. WHILE WE DO NOT OFTEN TAKE A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN POLICY DEBATES, IN 2019 WE LED A COALITION OF GROUPS ACROSS COLORADO IN ADVOCATING THAT THE COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT USE ITS RULEMAKING AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS FOR WORKERS. THAT CAMPAIGN WAS POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF OUR LITIGATION CAPACITY. THE CREDIBLE THREAT OF LITIGATION UNDER THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT WAS WHAT SPURRED THE DEPARTMENT TO ENGAGE IN A CAREFUL RULEMAKING EFFORT AND TO EXAMINE WHETHER ITS PRIOR EXCLUSIONS OF CERTAIN WORKERS FROM PROTECTIONS WERE JUSTIFIED BY THE EVIDENCE. AFTER NEARLY A YEAR OF RULEMAKING ACTIVITY IN WHICH TOWARDS JUSTICE WAS DEEPLY INVOLVED, THE AGENCY PROMULGATED A NEW WAGE ORDER KNOWN AS THE "COMPS ORDER." THE COMPS ORDER PROVIDES SUBSTANTIAL ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS FOR WORKERS. MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT COVERS OVERTIME EXEMPT WORKERS WITH A SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED MINIMUM SALARY. IT ALSO EXTENDS REST AND MEAL BREAK PROTECTIONS TO TENS OF THOUSANDS OF WORKERS (INCLUDING CONSTRUCTION WORKERS) WHO HAD NOT PREVIOUSLY RECEIVED THOSE PROTECTIONS. IN ADDITION TO THESE SUCCESSES, IN 2019, TOWARDS JUSTICE FILED CIVIL RIGHTS LITIGATION ON BEHALF OF WORKERS AND CONSUMERS IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT AREAS, SUBMITTED AMICUS BRIEFS IN SUPPORT OF WORKERS, AND HELPED TO CHANGE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT WORK IN THIS COUNTRY.

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Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (public 990 form dataset) from: https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202022829349300942_public.xml