More cities should fill the gap to defend workers’ rights, says Oakland’s first worker protection attorney

For about a year that coincided with the start of the pandemic, housekeepers, front desk staff, and other workers at a Radisson Hotel in East Oakland received less than the minimum wage.

Today marks five years since many of these Radisson workers — who live in a region where the cost of living is almost 40% higher than the national average — organized to file wage theft charges. It has also been two years since the hotel was ordered to compensate them. But the Radisson Hotel in East Oakland still hasn’t paid up. It now owes $404,491 in back wages to 128 workers.

As an attorney representing the city of Oakland in this case, I’m proud to stand up for them. This isn’t just a fight to put food on the table for their families. These workers have also made it clear that they brought their complaints to the city to inspire other workers to stand up for themselves. Their tenacity motivates me every day to fight as hard as they have for justice.

Workers often have little recourse when it comes to workplace abuses. While they may know that denial of overtime pay or sick leave or misclassification as an independent contractor is wrong, there are very few ways to enforce those rights. Until recently, one of the only options they had was to file a complaint with the California Labor Commissioner, an office that has been undercapacity for years.

This is why, last year, the California Labor Commissioner awarded $18 million to local government offices for the investigation and prosecution of employers accused of wage theft and other labor law violations. I’ve just marked my first year as the city’s first attorney specifically tasked with worker protection — a position that was funded by this special grant.

Now, people in Oakland can pick up the phone and call our office to make a confidential complaint. As these complaints have come in, we’ve quickly come to realize that each one usually points to much larger labor violations at that workplace. That’s where our office’s broad authority to investigate, educate, and litigate violations of the California Labor Code or Oakland’s own worker protection laws affecting anyone in that workplace comes in handy. This system protects people who make complaints from retaliation — and can also benefit others who work with them. From house cleaners to restaurant employees, the people I help are workers with low wages who don’t have another place to turn, with few resources and often precarious immigration status.

What I wish more local leaders knew is that government attorneys can fill a critical gap when it comes to enforcing workers’ rights. Unlike private attorneys, who often handle individual cases, government attorneys can address workplace violations systemically. And because our responsibility is to the community, and not just to a single worker, it is harder for employers to make a case go away by just reaching a settlement with one or just a few of the affected workers.

Government attorneys may also have subpoena power, as Oakland does. This allows us to look into whether any labor law has been broken, not just the one that is the subject of a complaint, before filing in court. Gathering information at this early stage also allows us to make educated decisions about which cases should be resolved through giving more information to the employer about their obligations under the law, and which need stronger enforcement. This flexibility allows us to make sure that both workers and employers are getting the support and education they need.

There is more than enough work to go around. As a former legal aid attorney, I know that legal aid organizations are chronically underfunded and understaffed, and even more so now due to federal cuts. The private bar and agencies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the California Labor Commissioner also don’t have the capacity to handle all worker protection cases. Funding city attorneys who are focused on worker protections can help fill this gap and reduce delays.

In Oakland, this can yield significant results, both in overall community impact and return on investment. Public Rights Project, where I’m currently an Affirmative Leaders Fellow, released a report last year that found that every dollar invested in Oakland’s affirmative litigation unit returned $5 to the city. The proven benefits of enforcing our laws and regulations show why more cities should engage in affirmative litigation and receive funding to do so, especially to enforce worker protections. It’s what we need to do to ensure that our communities can thrive.

Nora Cassidy is a worker protection attorney at the Oakland City Attorney’s Office and 2025 Affirmative Leaders Fellow. As part of the city’s affirmative litigation unit, her role entails litigating; conducting investigations, with a focus on combating wage theft; and working closely with city agencies and community partners to secure justice for workers.