The Law & Social Policy Legacy Award was launched in 2021 to recognize organizations defending and advocating for low-wage workers’ rights and to increase knowledge of this work in the philanthropic community. The Public Welfare Foundation spent more than a decade supporting public policy and system reforms to improve the lives of low-wage working people in the United States. This prize commemorates and builds on the Public Welfare Foundation’s support to the field and honors the critical role law and social policy organizations play in building an economy that works for all.A $10,000 award will be given by EOF with support from the Public Welfare Foundation annually until 2030 as a part of their legacy investment into the Workers’ Rights field.

New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty (NMCLP) received EOF’s 2023 Law & Social Policy Award.

NMCLP was selected for its strong record of advancing systemic change for low-wage workers in New Mexico through litigation, policy advocacy, education, and community engagement. For over 25 years, NMCLP has worked directly with workers and community groups to build a powerful, collaborative movement for lasting change. In the process, it has notched historic victories for low-wage workers that helped extend basic rights to farmworkers, improve enforcement of wage theft laws, and usher in the state’s first statewide paid sick leave law.

Northwest Workers’ Justice Project (NWJP) received EOF’s 2022 Law & Social Policy Award.

NWJP was selected for championing Oregon’s low-wage, immigrant, and contingent community by providing training to workers about employment and organizing rights, litigating major cases, and undertaking policy advocacy. These efforts have led to victories including the recovery of over $6 million in lost wages and damages for low-income workers across the state and policy reflective of comprehensive workplace protections. NWJP has started several collaborations – Oregon Coalition to Stop Wage Theft, Safe Jobs Oregon, and the Low Wage Worker Legal Network – creating pathways towards equitable and systemic change in the workplace.