Legal Services and Community Legal Education

Led by an in-house, bilingual Chief Counsel with over 18 years of experience, supported by a robust network of legal aid partners and private law firms, FLAP provides free legal assistance and community legal education.

FLAP specializes in cannabis expungement, employment law (wage theft, workplace safety, discrimination), housing protection and eviction prevention, and immigration.

Cannabis Expungement

The Cannabis Expungement Program at FLAP is integrated into FLAP’s broader Economic Mobility and Empowerment Program.

The primary goal of this program is to help low-wage, marginalized workers permanently clear their past marijuana-related criminal records so they can pass background checks, advance their careers, and access higher-paying employment opportunities.

FLAP has guided hundreds of thousands through cannabis expungement resources to clear criminal records and unlock economic opportunities.

 Employment

The primary objective of FLAP’s employment litigation is recovering stolen wages for low-wage workers across essential industries -food supply chain, greenhouses, landscaping, nurseries, and snow removal. FLAP’s in-house counsel litigates in state and federal courts under landmark labor statutes, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), aggressively challenging minimum wage violations, unpaid overtime, and illegal payroll deductions.

-Generated through 278,576 employment case referrals. FLAP directly filed 273 in-house lawsuits—90% of which were class or collective actions representing groups of exploited workers.

-94 in-house demand letters issued directly on behalf of low-wage workers in the food supply chain, greenhouse, landscaping, nursery and snow removal industries.

-$13.0M+ Total Recovered: $5.0M+ recovered directly by FLAP in-house counsel; $8.0M+ through partner referrals.

Immigration

In partnership with Beyond Legal Aid FLAP provides free, full legal representation to low-wage immigrant workers facing complex immigration issues.

Bilingual Manager of Community Outreach and Education leads the Immigration Legal Clinic at FLAP. This dedicated team member reaches workers where they live.

FLAP regularly co-host Free Immigration Clinics throughout Illinois—such as in Cicero, Aurora, and other Western Suburbs. Supported by the Illinois Access to Justice coalition, these pop-up clinics allow workers across FLAP's target industries -food supply chain, greenhouse, landscaping, nursery and snow removal- to sit down face-to-face with attorneys for free legal intake and case screenings.

FLAP has connected over 5 million individuals with private immigration attorneys and specialized legal aid organizations, alongside 1,500+ direct in-house immigration legal services provided.

Housing Protection and Eviction Prevention

FLAP partners with the Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt (CCLAHD), a county-wide program that provides free legal representation, mediation, and financial resource routing. Services are completely free and available to all Cook County renters, landlords, and homeowners, regardless of income, language, or immigration status.

Since its incorporation, FLAP has Informed over 1.2 million low-wage community members on tenant rights and eviction court procedures.

FLAP has Proven Legal and Community Impact:

• Reached over 3 million low-wage individuals with know-your-rights legal education across employment, housing, immigration, and expungement laws.
• Delivered more than 367, 500 community legal and education workshops done by licensed attorneys.
• Distributed more than 6.11M of bilingual community outreach and educational materials detailing legal rights, social services, tech access, and financial aid.
• 1,823 petitions and letters have been sent advocating directly for better working conditions and opportunities for low-wage workers in the food supply chain, greenhouse, landscaping, nursery and snow removal industries.

FLAP does not receive funding from the federal Legal Services Corporation (LSC). This independence allows FLAP to represent all workers (including H-2A and H-2B laborers). FLAP’s work is sustained through a diverse mix of attorney fees, cy-près awards, direct donor contributions, foundation grants, government contracts, endowment returns, fundraising events, in-kind support, and referral fees.