Ex. N.Y. Attorney General’s Office, Employment Law and Civil Litigation Skills

The Civil Litigation-Employment Law Externship at the New York State Office of the Attorney General’s Labor Bureau focuses on developing litigation skills while enforcing the labor laws that protect workers in New York State. The Externship is comprised of two distinct yet interrelated components: a weekly seminar and a clinical externship at the OAG.



The seminar reviews the protections that the labor laws provide for low-wage workers. The substantive laws covered will include: minimum wage and overtime laws; anti-discrimination laws, including criminal records discrimination; health and safety protections for workers; family and medical leave laws; and anti-trafficking laws. The seminar will also consider whether the injustices that low-wage workers experience are illegal and, if they are, the potential remedies and forums where we can pursue the claims, including criminal prosecution. If the injustices are not illegal, the seminar will explore possible legislative solutions.



The Labor Bureau also represents the NYS Department of Labor and Workers’ Compensation Board when their decisions are challenged in court. The seminar will review the protections afforded workers through the Unemployment Insurance System and the Workers’ Compensation System.



The seminar will also include practical exercises and discussions of students’ experiences from their fieldwork.



The second component of the course is an externship with the OAG’s Labor Bureau. This will be a clinical, hands-on experience allowing students to apply the knowledge learned in the weekly seminar to enforce the labor laws. Each student will spend at least 15 hours per week working with lawyers in the OAG’s Labor Bureau. By working with attorneys in the Labor Bureau, students will develop their client interviewing and litigation skills, a deeper understanding of the substantive employment law topics discussed in the seminar, and be exposed to the other legal and practical issues confronting low-wages workers.