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Lulit Shawan, writing for the Center for Law and Social Policy, was even more critical of Carey’s record. She called Carey’s nomination “a direct attack on worker’s rights.”
Carey’s “confirmation would severely weaken the NLRB’s ability to safeguard workers, protect collective bargaining and fair working conditions, and uphold fair labor practices, as well as shift the balance of power even further in favor of corporations. Carey also advocates limiting corporate oversight and mitigating union growth, stances bound to be reflected in the NLRB’s enforcement priorities upon her confirmation,” she wrote.
This statement can be attributed to Lorena Roque, Interim Director of Education, Labor, and Worker Justice of the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Washington, D.C., July 16, 2025 – Last week, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer announced the department’s deregulatory efforts, which include 63 actions that will harm workers and working families.
Under the guise of “putting the American worker first,” the DOL’s plan in the Wage and Hour department includes eliminating minimum wage and overtime protections for millions of home health care and domestic workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), while also proposing to classify caregivers as exempt from FLSA minimum wage and overtime protections. Coming at a time when families are already in a child care and caregiving crisis, these proposed cuts only exacerbate the precariousness of these jobs and their already low wages. DOL also plans to rescind Biden-era proposed rules aimed at ending subminimum wages for workers with disabilities and the right to collective action for Seasonal H-2A visas.
On worker safety protections, DOL intends to revise reporting thresholds, training mandates, and change enforcement priorities and inspection frequencies at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This proposed rule would limit OSHA’s capacity to oversee work that is inherently hazardous, like the sports and entertainment industries. The DOL also plans to deregulate respiratory protection requirements and substance-specific safety standards in high-risk industries and remove some OSHA regulations entirely for migrant farmworkers, including a longstanding rule that outlines the internal procedures of DOL for coordinating enforcement action among OSHA, the Wage and Hour Division, and the Employment and Training Administration. The agency also proposes slashing critical workplace safety standards in the construction field that deal with hazard prevention and the informed development of safety rules.
The Trump Administration recently announced its goal of creating over 1 million apprenticeships for workers in the country. At the same time, by rescinding affirmative action requirements for these programs, the administration is destroying the labor infrastructure it claims to want to build up. This is only the latest attack on workers and working families from the Trump Administration, which has used numerous executive orders and immigration enforcement to attack unions and their leaders.
We urge our partners and allies to submit public comments where possible and join us in opposing efforts to strip away essential protections from working families and undermine labor unions that fought hard to secure the rights we have as workers in this country.
This statement can be attributed to Wendy Chun-Hoon, President and Executive Director of the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Washington, D.C., July 10, 2025 – This week, several federal agencies—including the Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Education (ED), and Department of Labor (DOL)—issued notices regarding reinterpretation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act that restricts eligibility for some federal programs to “qualified immigrants.” These notices are in response to the Trump Administration’s executive order in February that seeks to deny federal benefits to undocumented immigrants, despite the fact that they are already ineligible for most federal benefits. These latest actions only serve to restrict access to such programs for immigrant families, including U.S. citizen children.
The Trump Administration is undermining more than 30 years of rules between federal and state governments about how grant dollars can be used. These changes will present states, counties, and cities with challenges about how they administer these programs.
Several essential programs are implicated in the HHS rule, including the community health center program, critical mental health and substance use funding for states, community services funds to bolster communities with low incomes, and funding to support foster youth. Head Start is a key program also subject to reinterpretation, potentially compromising eligibility for children in immigrant families, with grave consequences for their early learning and development. For 60 years, Head Start has ensured that children from birth to age 5 and their families have access to educational, health, and family support. Along with the programs noted above, Head Start is specifically designed to support families with low incomes, including immigrant families, by addressing both immediate and comprehensive needs. Additionally, Migrant and Seasonal Head Start helps farmworker families achieve stability and break the cycle of poverty.
Other impacts could include specific ED adult education and postsecondary career and technical education programs, along with certain DOL workforce training programs. While other programs for which immigrants are eligible, including SNAP and WIC, are not currently affected, the uncertainty and confusion around these new notices and guidances could have a wider chilling effect on numerous benefit programs.
This is just the latest assault on immigrants and immigrant families from the Trump Administration, which has used numerous executive orders and the reconciliation bill to cause great harm to immigrant children and families. Although several of these notices only reaffirm existing policy, in some cases–where eligibility is further restricted–agency guidance and possibly public comments will need to be considered before any eligibility is changed.
We urge our partners and allies to submit public comments where possible and join us in opposing efforts to strip away essential supports from immigrant families and undermine our collective well-being. We also urge community members to seek out information from trusted sources on how their eligibility for programs may be affected, including from our partners at the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition.
The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) is a national, nonpartisan, anti-poverty organization advancing policy solutions that work for people with low incomes and people of color. We advocate for public policies and programs at the federal, state, and local levels that reduce poverty, improve the lives of people with low incomes, and advance racial, gender, and economic justice. Our solutions directly address the barriers that individuals and families face because of race, ethnicity, low income, gender, immigration status, and involvement with the carceral system.
Over more than 50 years we have kept our vision alive through our trusted expertise on policy and strategy, deeply knowledgeable and committed staff, partnerships with directly impacted people and grassroots leaders, and bold, innovative, and inclusive approaches to economic, racial, and gender justice.
At this extraordinarily important moment for the United States, CLASP is actively defending against unprecedented and relentless assaults on the people and policies at the core of our agenda. We are doing so through a mix of congressional advocacy built on our vision, relationships, and deep knowledge; administrative advocacy to fight against the unabating attacks on programs and policies; state-level change, by generating impactful ideas in collaboration with state officials and advocates; and a powerful vision put forward together with on-the-ground leaders.
CLASP is uniquely positioned within the broader policy advocacy world in our focus at the intersection of jobs, postsecondary education, workforce, adult education, and public benefits – and because we center the experiences of workers and students with low incomes and communities of color in our policy advocacy. Key to our effectiveness is our ability to toggle between federal and state policy and implementation, our core commitment to workers paid the lowest wages—often, women of color—and our trusted relationships with public officials, advocates, and grassroots organizers.
The Education, Labor and Worker Justice (ELWJ) team is laser-focused on ensuring that all jobs are good jobs and all workers—and would-be workers—have ongoing access to education and training opportunities with a focus on those engaged in work paying low wages. The team works to dismantle and reform systemic and institutional failures in the labor market and workforce system that perpetuate widening gender and racial wage and wealth gaps.
The ELWJ team leverages CLASP’s deep expertise on worker benefits, worker protections, worker voice, worker rights advocacy, labor standards enforcement, and racial equity with our crucial role in advancing job creation, workforce development, and postsecondary education policies that uplift people with low incomes who have been historically marginalized by systemic racism, economic exclusion, and immigration-related barriers. The Team Director will lead the ELWJ team.
CLASP has a long-standing commitment to workforce development, foundational skills development, and postsecondary education as key strategies to advance economic mobility, increasing credential attainment, advancing skills, and providing work experience to individuals who face structural barriers to employment. Staff play a leadership role in advancing crucial policies for workers and students of color and those in industries that pay low wages. Working closely with coalition partners, CLASP has been central to shaping the national conversation on addressing the changing nature of low-wage work and addressing systemic barriers to employment and education.
The Director will play a central leadership role in shaping and advancing CLASP’s vision for racial, gender, and economic equity through transformative worker- and student-centered policy solutions. As a key member of the organization’s Leadership team, the Director will collaborate with colleagues to set CLASP’s strategic agenda and cultivate a strong, equity-driven organizational culture. They will mentor staff, set clear performance expectations, develop staff leadership, and foster a collaborative, mission-aligned work environment.
The Director will serve as a leading voice for CLASP’s advocacy on worker benefits, labor protections, job quality, and workforce equity—engaging with funders, policymakers, and national and grassroots partners. They will guide strategy and partnerships that elevate the voices of workers and dismantle systemic labor market barriers for people with low incomes who have been historically marginalized by systemic racism, economic exclusion, and immigration-related barriers. This role includes thought leadership on federal and state policy, cross-team collaboration within CLASP, and strategic fundraising that advances the organization’s mission. The Director will bring a bold vision for inclusive economic justice, leveraging CLASP’s expertise to expand access to good jobs, high-quality postsecondary education, and equitable labor standards enforcement.
CLASP is a unionized organization, but this position is not part of the bargaining unit. Employees are represented by CLASP Workers United (OPEIU, Local 2). CLASP values collaboration, fair labor practices, and constructive engagement with the union. We have just finalized our first Collective Bargaining Agreement, which will be in effect until May 2027.
Salary Range: $150 – 160K
Salary is commensurate with experience. CLASP offers exceptional benefits, including several employer-paid health insurance options, dental insurance, life and long-term disability insurance, long-term care insurance, a 403(b)-retirement program, flexible spending accounts, and generous vacation, paid sick leave, paid family and medical leave, and holiday schedules.
Application Process: Please apply here and include a cover letter with your submission. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. NO PHONE CALLS, PLEASE.
This statement can be attributed to Wendy Chun-Hoon, President and Executive Director of the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Washington, D.C., July 3, 2025 – This afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the budget reconciliation bill, which President Trump is expected to sign on July 4. This bill will cause unprecedented harm across the country, particularly to communities with low incomes, people of color, immigrants, workers, women, and children. CLASP has vociferously opposed the reconciliation bill and is busy working on a strategy for supporting the people at the heart of our mission who will be left to deal with the bill’s catastrophic cuts and spiteful policy changes. Our fight to ensure the dignity, security, and well-being of those who have been most marginalized is far from over, and CLASP is ready to meet the moment.
This statement can be attributed to Isha Weerasinghe, Director of Public Benefits Justice at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Washington, D.C., July 1, 2025—The budget reconciliation bill passed today by the Senate on a vote of 51-50, with Vice-President Vance casting the tie-breaking vote, will cause significant harm to millions of children and families, all for the sake of providing more tax breaks for the wealthy. The bill includes substantially more funds to accelerate the devastating immigration enforcement actions that are tearing families apart and undermining the safety and well-being of vulnerable children, including those who are U.S. citizens and asylum seekers.
The Senate’s version of the bill contains deeper cuts to Medicaid than the version passed by the House last month, excludes many lawfully present immigrants from eligibility, and expands the House’s work requirement to include some parents, which will cause millions more people to lose health insurance. This means that children and seniors, along with millions of middle-class and working families, people who need long-term care, and those who live in nursing homes will be at risk of losing their health insurance. An estimated 17 million people will lose health insurance, and 8 million people will be at risk for losing food assistance–in the same bill that gives tax breaks to billionaires and corporations.
In addition to these harmful Medicaid cuts, the bill also adds dangerous provisions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that will restrict access, tighten eligibility, and shift major costs from the federal government to states, potentially forcing them to end their SNAP programs entirely. This represents a major threat to the health care and food assistance that millions of families depend on for their health, well-being, and stability. The bill also denies immigrants key federal benefits like Medicaid and SNAP that they contribute to, and creates barriers for them to apply for legal or permanent status by raising fees.
The bill will also cut off access to the Child Tax Credit for an estimated 2.6 million U.S. citizen children simply because their only caregiver(s) lack a Social Security number. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy indicates that, under this bill, the wealthiest households in the country will see an average tax cut of about $65,000, while the households with the lowest incomes will only receive an average tax cut of $110. This disparity is particularly stark, given that this bill does nothing to support the needs of families with low incomes who are especially harmed by the lack of affordable child care and increased cost of living.
The Senate bill also affects college affordability and the financial well-being of students by limiting student loans for programs and eliminating repayment options for new borrowers facing economic hardship or unemployment. The bill would also restrict access to Pell Grants for over 4.4 million students, making it harder for students with low incomes to cover costs and finish their programs.
The bill will now go to the House, whose leadership has made it clear that they will push it through as quickly as possible to meet a self-imposed July 4th deadline. Given the disregard for children, workers, immigrants, and families shown in the House’s reconciliation bill, provisions targeting the most vulnerable are likely to remain intact.
Like the House bill, the Senate’s version will harm the health, security, and well-being of communities across the country. CLASP urges House lawmakers to reject this damaging bill and focus on policies that prioritize workers, children, and families over billionaires.
CLASP seeks to ensure that the Universal Paid Leave program and the paid parental, family, and medical leave for district employees is equitable and can operate soundly to best support the city’s workers and economy alike. With this in mind, we are writing today in strong opposition to the Mayor’s FY 2026 budget proposal.
>> Read the full testimony here
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She isn’t alone. The United States does not require employers to offer paid family and medical leave and paid sick time. Workers who need time off to have a baby, care for a sick relative, or recover from injury or illness depend on the generosity of their company or state (some, including Massachusetts, Washington, and New York, have passed mandatory paid family leave in recent years). And young employees are less likely to get the benefit of employer-paid leave, according to a February 2025 report jointly published by the advocacy group A Better Balance and two non-profit policy organizations, the Center for Law and Social Policy, and the National Collaborative for Transformative Youth Policy.
This statement can be attributed to Wendy Cervantes, director of the immigration and immigrant families team at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP).
Washington, D.C., June 27, 2025 – Today, the Supreme Court’s opinion in Trump v. CASA curtailed federal judges’ ability to temporarily block Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order (EO) nationwide. This EO would deny birthright citizenship to babies born without at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident. The Supreme Court also delays Trump’s EO from going into effect for 30 days.
While today’s opinion does not address the constitutionality of Trump’s birthright citizenship EO, allowing Trump to end birthright citizenship in some parts of the country within 30 days while litigation on the constitutionality of the executive order continues will cause chaos and harm babies, families, and communities.
In the 1898 decision United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Court confirmed that U.S. citizenship was a birthright of all children born to immigrants in the United States. Now, for the first time in over a century, millions of babies born in this country may be denied automatic birthright citizenship depending on their ZIP code or their ability to prove their parents’ immigration status.
Today’s opinion has profoundly negative consequences for our nation. A large body of research has documented that U.S. citizenship is a key driver of economic growth, educational attainment, and health. Conversely, research also documents that the denial of legal status results in legal, political, economic, and social exclusion to the detriment of stateless children and to the United States.
Even as litigation continues on the constitutionality of the EO itself, families welcoming a new baby in some parts of the country may soon be required to prove their child’s citizenship. This burden will affect not only mixed-status immigrant families but all families in the impacted jurisdiction, undermining the well-being of newborn babies and their parents. Single mothers, families with low incomes, and families of color will be disproportionately impacted by this requirement.
This fight is far from over, and CLASP stands ready to work with partners to ensure that impacted families and service providers are informed about their rights. We urge the Court to uphold the Fourteenth Amendment and rule that Trump’s executive order is unconstitutional. We also call on federal and state policymakers to stand up against the Trump Administration’s reckless attacks on immigrant families and commit to protecting every child born in the United States.
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But there’s still a gap in regulations for rideshare companies because of their evolving technologies, said Lorena Roque, the interim director of education, labor and worker justice at The Center for Law and Social Policy, a left-leaning anti-poverty advocacy organization.
“Working on an app-based platform — like with delivery workers and rideshare workers —that sort of work is relatively new, so there’s not a clear standard,” Roque said.