Workers' Rights Institute
Launched in the summer of 2019, the Workers' Rights Institute focuses on innovative legal and policy initiatives to support workers' rights and empowering the nation's most vulnerable workers to access existing labor protections.
The Workers’ Rights Institute organizes legal and policy initiatives that raise standards while also building workers’ collective power in the workplace and in their communities. Included is the development of proactive and creative vehicles for outreach, education and effective utilization of established and other resources to empower and protect the traditionally undeserved and diverse population of low-income workers.
The Workers’ Rights Institute has put together resources for workers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Find them here.

A Woman's Work: The NFL's Cheerleader Problem
Fri Feb 26
3:30-5:00 PM EST
RSVP https://bit.ly/3b0hNSf

Worker Cooperatives and Cooperative Lawyering
Thursday, February 25th
1:00 - 1:45 PM EST
Register here: https://t.co/Jzt7u5OOyl?amp=1
A conversation with: Julian Hill, Social Enterprise & Nonprofit Law Clinic Fellow
and Priyanka Surapaneni (L’21)
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to expose systemic challenges to the U.S. political economy, public interest lawyers and community activists have continued to explore strategies for law reform and community empowerment. In this panel discussion, Julian Hill (Georgetown Law) and Priyanka Surapaneni (L'21) will discuss how lawyers have worked with communities to leverage cooperative strategies to respond to the crises of our modern age. Reflecting on their own career paths, they will highlight how law students, and lawyers alike, can engage in cooperative lawyering and support cooperative movements to promote systems-level change. These efforts aim to improve the material conditions of those who are suffering the most among us.
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Julian Hill (they/he) is an abolitionist and solidarity economy lawyer, organizer, educator and artist. A Clinical Teaching Fellow with Georgetown Law's Social Enterprise and Nonprofit Law Clinic, Julian was formerly a Supervising Attorney with TakeRoot Justice in NYC, advising dozens of worker cooperatives on a host of matters, and a Co-Chair of Black Youth Project (BYP) 100's New York City chapter. Julian is a Founder for the soon-to-be worker cooperative, Yo Hablo, which uses hip hop to teach Spanish. They earned their BA in Philosophy from Northwestern University and their JD from Harvard Law School.
Priyanka Surapaneni is a 3L at Georgetown University Law Center. Last fall, she was Student Attorney at Georgetown Law's Social Enterprise and Nonprofit Law Clinic, where she developed an interest in movement lawyering and sustainable community development. She graduated from Wake Forest University with a BA in Communication.

Hastings Law Journal Symposium |
The Pandemic and the People: Social Justice Implications of COVID-19
Business and Employment Law Panel
Thursday, February 18, 2021
5:00 - 6:00 PM PST

COVID-19: Impact on Workers: Millions of workers are hit hard by the devastating economic fallout and health/safety impact of COVID-19. Professor Jamillah Bowman Williams, Faculty Director of Georgetown Law's Workers' Rights Institute is joined by Indi Dutta Gupta, Co-Executive Director of the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality to discuss the issues and disparities workers are facing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resources available to them in this difficult time

Race, Workers, and Voter Suppression
A conversation between James C. Benton, Ph.D., Director, Race and Economic Empowerment Project, Georgetown University’s Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor
and
Mark Gaston Pearce, Executive Director, Workers’ Rights Institute, Georgetown Law

"There is so much that is being said about the worst victims of this pandemic, yet the volume of these words is seemingly diminished by the drone of competing headlines and political spin. Perhaps artists must emerge, as they have during so many periods of crisis, and literally "paint a picture" for the world to see. I humbly offer this painting for that purpose. My painting seeks to evoke many emotions as it asks the question; is the term 'essential' synonymous with 'expendable?' " - Mark Gaston Pearce, "Essentially Vulnerable" (Oil on Canvas)

The #MeToo Movement in 7 Charts: Georgetown Law Professor Jamillah Williams shares her amazing research on how the #MeToo movement played out in social media and the legislature. We also discuss her findings on politicians accused of sexual misconduct, and accusations against Joe Biden. Is the #Metoo movement dead? We answer the question once and for all. Based on Prof. Williams' article, #MeToo as a Catalyst: A Glimpse into 21st Century Activism.