College of Law Professor Sherley Cruz has teamed with the Tennessee Access to Justice Commission to help educate thousands of unemployed Tennesseeans.
Cruz, whose expertise is in unemployment and wage theft cases, is partnering with employment lawyers across the state to create videos answering questions that include:
- What do I do if I haven’t received my unemployment?
- Do self-employed individuals qualify for the unemployment stimulus?
- What Do You Need to Know About Filing for COVID Unemployment?
These videos, a response to unprecedented laws designed to help those losing their jobs in the pandemic, are providing much needed information about changing unemployment benefits. Cruz also co-facilitated with the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee a CLE titled “Unemployment in the Time of Contagion.”
As a result of her efforts, Cruz was asked by Nashville Public Radio to explain Tennessee’s unemployment challenges. Her comments about the future of unemployment insurance and worker’s rights made national news in an episode of “All Things Considered.”
Cruz described the current situation as a renaissance for labor issues because of the launching of new programs designed to help low-wage workers.
“I think the more that we can have this be an issue that we’re talking about constantly and not just when there’s a high incidence of unemployment, that’s when we’ll see change,” Cruz said.
Her current research project focuses on the plight of low-wage workers in the meat packing industry and ways that government regulations and community activism can seriously improve the conditions for these workers.