New independent report highlights financial and social impacts of Oakland’s affirmative litigation efforts.
(January 6, 2025) Oakland, CA – An independent report released this week finds that the City of Oakland’s investment in affirmative litigation to enforce federal, state and local laws has protected and advanced Oaklander’s rights while simultaneously providing financial and social benefits to City residents. The report shows that Oakland City Attorney Barbara J. Parker’s investment in her office’s Affirmative Litigation, Innovation and Enforcement Division yielded a 486 percent return on investment from cases filed from 2015 through 2023, securing $56.2 million in awards from 2016 to 2023.
The report, Measuring and Amplifying the Social and Financial Impact of Affirmative Litigation, was prepared by global management consultant firm Kearney in collaboration with the nonpartisan nonprofit Public Rights Project. Public Rights Project has supported Oakland’s affirmative litigation efforts since 2017.
The funds brought in through the City Attorney’s affirmative litigation work have offset litigation-related costs, funded city programs, recovered money that has been returned directly to harmed Oakland residents and workers, funded remediation and reimbursed the City’s litigation fees and costs. To calculate the return on investment to the City, legal awards were compared to the costs of staff and other resources to prosecute the cases filed by the City Attorney’s Affirmative Litigation Division.
The City Attorney’s affirmative litigation efforts have improved workplace safety and accountability, living conditions, public safety, health and environmental conditions, and the protection of civil rights. From 2010 to 2020, affirmative litigation by the Oakland City Attorney’s Office (OCA) reaped benefits for at least 27 Oakland neighborhoods, provided 150,000 residents access to safer environments and a better quality of life, and addressed critical issues such as housing justice, human trafficking, workers’ rights and discrimination. OCA’s housing justice unit’s work has directly impacted more than 3,000 tenants.
“Local governments like Oakland are increasingly on the frontlines enforcing laws that safeguard our communities,” said Oakland City Attorney Barbara J. Parker. “We’re delighted that this report demonstrates the results of our affirmative litigation for the people of Oakland during my tenure. Although many local governments, including Oakland, face challenging financial times, this report confirms that affirmative litigation pays dividends financially as well as protecting and advancing Oaklanders’ rights. Oakland’s strategy can serve as a model for cities and counties nationwide.”
For 22 years, OCA has invested in proactive legal strategies to shield residents, workers and communities from harm caused by property owners, employers and polluters. OCA’s Neighborhood Law Corps (NLC) was founded in 2002 to respond to community quality-of-life concerns such as blight, housing safety, human trafficking and illegal dumping. In 2016, City Attorney Parker launched the Affirmative Litigation Division to prioritize this important advocacy. In addition to the NLC, the division includes the Housing Justice Initiative Unit, established in 2016 to focus on cases that help protect and preserve affordable housing in Oakland, and the Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit, established in 2020 to advance systemic rights such as worker protections and environmental justice.
“As local governments anticipate the Trump administration reducing federal enforcement of civil rights, environmental and labor protections, these local efforts to protect essential rights have never been more important,” noted Parker.
Jesse Newmark, Litigation Director at Centro Legal de la Raza, praised the division’s impact on housing rights, saying OCA “takes on complex and high-risk cases that have profound impacts for the communities we serve at Centro Legal de la Raza. When they bring a lawsuit, they have the unique role of representing the entire City and not just individual tenants.”
On the worker’s rights front, OCA sued Radisson Hotel Oakland Airport for failing to pay 128 workers after an investigation by the Oakland Department of Workplace and Employment Standards revealed violations of Oakland’s Hotel Minimum Wage Ordinance, or Measure Z.
Hannah Zucherman, Campaign Coordinator for Workers’ Rights at East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE), said, “With support from the Oakland City Attorney’s Affirmative Litigation Division, workers now have a stronger chance to seek justice and hold employers accountable. We hope the City’s ongoing case against the Radisson Hotel will set a strong precedent for enforcing Measure Z and protecting the will of Oakland voters across all hotels.”
A former laundry worker at the Radisson shared, “We depend on our wages to pay rent and feed our families. I am glad that the City Attorney’s Office is fighting to get us the money we are owed. I hope this lawsuit helps more workers speak up when they are not paid and shows employers that they must follow the law.”
In 2017, OCA and other cities and counties in California brought groundbreaking cases against the world’s five largest fossil fuel companies, seeking to hold them accountable for the impacts of their deceptive marketing around climate change. In 2023 the California Attorney General also filed suit and the California jurisdictions are now working in collaboration.
Adele Watts, Interim Program Director of East Oakland at Communities for a Better Environment, praised the division's case, saying, "Toxic corporations have profited off the backs of environmental justice communities for long enough. I applaud Oakland’s efforts to use the law to protect residents from the impacts of climate change caused by the fossil fuel industry."
For the report, Kearney and Public Rights Project collected and categorized data on hundreds of matters to conduct a detailed quantitative analysis to calculate both the financial and social return on investment of the division.
“We’re honored to support the Oakland City Attorney’s Office and Public Rights Project in quantifying the immense value of affirmative litigation work,” said Beth Bovis, Partner at Kearney.
“Public Rights Project has been proud to partner with the Oakland City Attorney’s Office since our inception. We are pleased to collaborate with Kearney to demonstrate the significance of this work,” added Jill Habig, Founder and CEO of Public Rights Project.
The full report is available here.
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About Public Rights Project
As a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, Public Rights Project helps local government officials fight for civil rights. We do this by building their capacity to protect and advance civil rights, convening and connecting them on issues of civil rights, and providing legal representation to governments to help them win in court on behalf of their residents. Since our founding, we’ve built a network of over 670 government offices, elected officials, and community-based organizations in 43 states, and helped recover over $46 million in relief for marginalized people.
About Kearney
Kearney is a leading global management consulting firm. For nearly 100 years, we have been a trusted advisor to C-suites, government bodies, and nonprofit organizations. Our people make us who we are. Driven to be the difference between a big idea and making it happen, we work alongside our clients to regenerate their businesses to create a future that works for everyone. www.kearney.com
Press Contact
Kearney: Meir Kahtan, MKPR, mkahtan@rcn.com, +1 917-864-0800
Public Rights Project: Grace Kair, gracek@chatham-strategies.com
Oakland City Attorney’s Office, mediainquiries@oaklandcityattorney.org
