Jane and Finch residents dealing with employment law issues can now access a new Legal Aid division at Osgoode Hall Law School geared towards that service.

Officially launched Thursday, March 10, the Community Legal Aid Services Program (CLASP) at York University’s Osgoode Hall now offers a one-year pilot project employment law division.

Open to low-income people who work in Toronto, with priority given to Jane Street and Finch Avenue residents, the new division will assist clients with employment agreements; employment insurance; employment standards; health and safety reprisals; human rights in the workplace; and wrongful dismissal.

Employment lawyer Phanath Im will serve as the review counsel for the division, and will supervise Osgoode students who will represent clients in negotiations and mediations, as well as in litigation at the Ontario Labour Relations Board, Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, Social Security Tribunal of Canada, and Small Claims Court in Toronto.

Im, who graduated from Osgoode in 2010, is a former CLASP division leader and former volunteer senior editor for website jane-finch.com

She worked at the Ontario Ministry of Labour prosecuting health and safety offences and representing the director of employment standards in employment standards appeals, and later moved into private employment law practice.

Im, who lived in Toronto Community Housing in the Jane Street and Finch Avenue area for 20 years, said that gives her unique insight and understanding of the community.

“I had extensive consultation with the Jane and Finch community about what types of services would be most beneficial to them,” she said. “(Legal Aid) services for employment law is limited. There are other Legal Aid clinics in Toronto, but not a lot provide an employment division. There is a lot of need. Jane and Finch is a disadvantaged community, and employers take advantage of people who won’t assert their rights. We are hoping to be able to empower people in the Jane and Finch community.”