Dave McKenna

The Project

Dave (he/him) advocates at Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) for low wage workers in the Boston area to increase health and safety at work through direct legal services, community education, and policy advocacy.

No one should have to choose between losing income and protecting their health. But low-wage workers are often fired or get their hours cut for asserting their rights to paid sick leave or safe and healthy working conditions. As a result, poor health outcomes and high unemployment are concentrated in the working-class neighborhoods that make our state run.

Fellowship Highlights to Date

In the first year of the Fellowship, Dave has:

• Trained over 425 workers and advocates about sick time and paid medical leave rights
• Won settlements totaling $119,000 for unpaid sick time and wrongful termination of 27 workers
• Won $50,000 in unemployment benefits for seven wrongly terminated workers
• Obtained $260,000 in Paid Family Medical Leave benefits for 34 workers with serious health conditions
• Expanded eligibility for Paid Family Medical Leave benefits to thousands of undocumented workers through individual appeals, legal research, and advocacy with the state agency
• Submitted proposed regulatory changes to the Department of Family and Medical Leave to improve appeal rights for late applicants and wrongfully denied applicants

Next Steps

In the next year, Dave plans to:

• Start a new community partnership for GBLS Employment Law Unit to reach more immigrant workers
• Develop model demand letters for community partners to use for paid sick leave and hold workshops
• Continue systemic advocacy on worker health in new state legislative cycle, to expand paid sick leave, paid medical leave, and improve accessibility of these benefits

Media