Temporary Workers' Rights Staff Attorney

TakeRoot Justice (“TakeRoot”) seeks applicants to cover the leave of a Senior Staff Attorney and provide interim support to TakeRoot’s Workers’ Rights practice (“practice”), which includes a Director, a Paralegal/Advocacy Coordinator, and five Senior Staff Attorneys, at least one of whom who will be on leave.

The Workers’ Rights practice partners with community-based worker centers (“partner organizations”) in all five boroughs of New York City to provide legal services to their members including domestic workers and home health aides, construction workers, restaurant and food service workers, retail workers, cleaners, and other low-wage workers. Our legal work includes federal and New York state court litigation, administrative agency filings, and pre-litigation negotiations of minimum wage and overtime violations, tip theft, retaliation, discrimination, sexual harassment, sick leave, and labor trafficking claims. We also aim to support the organizing campaigns of our partner organizations and provide Know-Your-Rights trainings to their members. The successful candidate will be passionate about client-centered lawyering, building collective worker power, and advocating for low-wage workers, particularly immigrants and people of color connected to grassroots organizing campaigns.

This is a 20 to 36 hour per week temporary employee position with a flexible start date, as early as July 2026, and will last approximately 7 months with the possibility of extension, subject to Union agreement. Please indicate your preferred start date and number of hours of weekly availability in your cover letter.

TakeRoot Justice is a hybrid workplace, which can be fully remote except for in-person Court appearances and any necessary client meetings.

What You Will Do:

• Assist TakeRoot attorneys in representing low-wage workers in wage-and-hour, anti-discrimination, and other employment actions in federal and state court, before administrative agencies, and in pre-litigation negotiations with employers.
• Litigation work would involve co-counseling with TakeRoot attorneys on wage-and-hour and/or discrimination claims and may require filing a Notice of Appearance, appearing in court, engaging in discovery and possible motion practice.

Qualifications:

• Admission to the New York State Bar, and have at least five (5) years of relevant substantive legal experience;
• Dedication to a client-centered approach to legal representation;
• Significant federal and/or state court litigation experience;
• Experience working with a diverse team in a collaborative model that uplifts all voices on the team and prioritizes professional development;
• Ability to work with individuals from various cultural and professional backgrounds;
• Strong communication and writing skills;
• Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving skills; and
• Strong organizational skills.

The Ideal Candidate Will Also Have:

• Competency in a language other than English (strongly preferred);
• Experience working with low-wage, immigrant workers or other vulnerable communities;
• Experience working with or in worker centers or other community-based organizations; and
• Legislative and/or policy advocacy experience.

Salary and Compensation:

This is a W-2 position with an hourly pay range between $46 to $50, commensurate with experience.

Who We Are:

Background: TakeRoot Justice provides legal, participatory research and policy support to strengthen the work of grassroots and community-based groups in New York City to dismantle racial, economic and social oppression. TakeRoot employs a unique model of partnership with grassroots and community-based groups. Our partners take the lead in determining the priorities and goals for our work and advance our understanding of justice.

TakeRoot’s practice areas are Capacity Building, Consumer Justice, Equitable Neighborhoods, Tenants’ Rights and Housing Justice, Immigrants’ Rights, Participatory Research and Policy, and Workers’ Rights. TakeRoot Justice is an equal opportunity employer. TakeRoot encourages applications from people with diverse backgrounds, including women, people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, LGBTQ people, people from low-income backgrounds, and people with personal experience with the criminal justice system. We strongly encourage applications from people with lived experiences in the communities we serve.

Competency in a language other than English (strongly preferred)