Workers' Rights

Prior to joining ALC’s Workers’ Rights team, Ammad worked as a civil rights advocate serving members of Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian communities on a broad range of issues, including employment discrimination/unemployment insurance benefits, religious accommodation issues, law enforcement harassment and anti-Muslim bullying in schools. Through previous roles, Ammad also has experience from his time in New York (and Canada) on immigration matters, including refugee, asylum, and DACA issues. A native of Kashmir, Ammad works with Americans for Kashmir to engage political stakeholders in finding a permanent internationally mediated solution to the Indian-occupation of Kashmir. In his spare time, Ammad plays in cricket/soccer leagues and often finds that most of his planned hikes are far beyond his lung capacity.

*Admitted to practice in NY; awaiting California admission

Mei Mei is a Community Advocate with the Workers’ Rights Program where she supports the legal counseling clinic and works on “Know Your Rights” trainings and materials.

She grew up in Bakersfield as the child of low-wage workers--an assistant cook and a hotel housekeeper. Her experience living in a working class, first generation immigrant household is one of Mei Mei's reasons for her commitment to social justice. In her free time, she maintains her morning pages streak and studies peoples' movements against U.S. imperialism.

Palyn’s legal career spans two legal services programs, the National Employment Law Project, and the New York Civil Liberties Union. She has advocated for disabled clients in administrative hearings and abused clients in protective order, custody, and divorce proceedings. At NELP, she was co-counsel on a class action that recovered back wages and overtime for grocery store and pharmacy delivery workers. Following the 2004 Republican National Convention, as a staff attorney at the New York Civil Liberties Union, Palyn represented peaceful protestors caught up in mass arrests, ultimately leading to a large group settlement. Most recently, she was a volunteer at the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center, helping achieve a trial victory in a national origin discrimination case challenging a hiring question on prior use of other Social Security Numbers. After graduating from Harvard College and Columbia Law School, she clerked for a federal magistrate judge in Brooklyn.

Tatiana is a Legal Assistant with the Housing Rights Program where she supports legal & administrative work. Prior to ALC, she worked for a law office in Oakland Chinatown, supporting a small legal team and providing Cantonese interpretation to the community.

Since the age of 11, she was involved and supported by local nonprofits, such as Girls Inc and the Achieve Program. Tatiana roots her work in giving back to the people as a way of saying thank you to the community that raised her.