Three former Fellows, Kevin Kish (’06), Julie Su (’94) and Sameer Ashar (’96), were quoted in a Daily Journal article about Loyola Law School’s new Employment Rights Clinic, in which students conduct neutral investigations of retaliation complaints filed to California’s Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (“Students Take On New Role in Workplace Retaliation Cases,” Dec. 24). Julie, who directs the department, approached the school to take on the cases to, in part, address a backlog.

Kevin said the investigations are a vital service. “The process can be particularly crucial for low-wage workers, who are unlikely to bring claims in court because of the difficulty of finding counsel for low-value claims,” he said. Julie said expedient investigations are important to maintain worker rights. Employers retaliate, she said, “often not just to punish a single worker for engaging in her rights — for engaging in protected activity — but to have a chilling effect on the workplace.”

Sameer, a professor at University of California, Irvine School of Law, said he’s also planning on taking on a couple of investigations soon at Julie’s request. “I think there’s something different about an adjudicative role in an administrative agency that’s supposed to be pro-worker but still owes due process to all parties,” Sameer said.