Philadelphia’s Fair Workweek Law turns five years old on April 1st! As we celebrate this important milestone, CLS is thrilled to see how this law has made a real difference in the lives of Philly’s frontline service, hospitality, and retail workers. As legal aid attorneys who represent low-wage workers, CLS repeatedly heard from clients who…
Currently, the Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation (UC) benefit system is experiencing long delays in handling appeals from denials of UC benefits. People are waiting for their UC referee hearings and decisions for 2 to 6 months, depending on their location in the state. Most people who must wait that long suffer severe financial hardship. If you…
SNAP helps more than 2 million Pennsylvanians keep food on the table. Pennsylvania is stronger when families facing food insecurity can access nutritious meals through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). But massive SNAP cuts threaten to undermine our most effective and important tool to fight hunger. Children who receive SNAP have better health and…
Medicaid keeps workers healthy and employed. Work requirements make entire families sicker when people lose coverage. Medicaid is an efficient, effective program for keeping 3 million Pennsylvanians healthy. Studies show that Medicaid provides access to comparable care at a significantly lower cost than private health insurance. The PA Department of Human Services found that Medicaid…
Community Legal Services and Philadelphia Legal Assistance (PLA) are thrilled to welcome three new members to our overlapping Boards of Directors. Diana Cortes, a partner at Morgan Lewis, is a longtime trial lawyer and former Philadelphia city solicitor/general counsel. Diana represents clients in crisis and complex litigation matters, including class actions and large group…
“Language justice goes beyond simply providing interpretation or translation. Language justice is about centering the dignity of those impacted,” writes Chi-Ser Tran, Supervising Attorney in the SSI Unit and Language Access Project at CLS. In this article, written for MIE, Chi-Ser shares her experience of caring for her father through an illness, describing how the…
October 18, 2024 – Tomorrow, October 19, 2024, the Pennsylvania Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs (BPOA) will publish the final regulations to implement Act 53 of 2020, commonly known as “the Occupational Licensing Reform Act.” The regulations will go into effect as of that date. Community Legal Services of Philadelphia (CLS) applauds these regulations,…
Great news! Three big changes are coming to the SSI program on September 30, 2024. These changes will help thousands of people get more SSI benefits. Previously, the Social Security Administration (SSA) reduced SSI benefits for people who received help from friends, family, or others in certain situations. This is called In-Kind Support and Maintenance…
Philadelphia just released new property assessments, which are used to calculate property tax bills. If your assessed value went up, your property taxes will, too. If you think your home’s assessment is too high, you should appeal right away. You can do that by requesting a “First Level Review” with the Office of Property Assessment…
CLS is pleased to announce our proposed settlement agreement with the Philadelphia Water Department regarding the proposed annual adjustment to the rates, called the TAP-R rates, that fund discounts to participants in the Tiered Assistance Program (TAP). If approved, this settlement will save customers more than $13 million between September 1, 2024 and August 31, 2025 compared…
