National Employment Law Project
New York, NY
This is the 2026 fellowship description for this mentor organization.
The National Employment Law Project (NELP) seeks two full-time law students for our 2026 summer legal internship program in New York City for ten weeks.
Who We Are
Founded in 1969, the nonprofit National Employment Law Project (NELP) is a leading advocacy organization with the mission to build a just and inclusive economy where all workers have expansive rights and thrive in good jobs. Together with local, state, and national partners, NELP advances its mission through transformative legal and policy solutions, research, capacity building, and communications. Our victories over the last decade have impacted the lives of an estimated 100 million workers and their families. We lead and collaborate in fights for higher pay and just benefits, secure and safe jobs, and support at each stage in a worker’s life. For more information, read our annual reports and explore our website: www.nelp.org
NELP has a team of approximately 55 staff people based across offices in New York City, Washington D.C., and Berkeley, CA and we regularly work with hundreds of partners in the field to further our mission.
What You Will Do
With a staff of lawyers, researchers, and policy experts, NELP works to advance worker policies at the federal, state, and local levels, and to enforce long-fought legal rights and protections. Our work includes:
· Developing new strategies to improve and ensure enforcement of basic workplace rights in order to address immigration status as a source of workplace precarity;
· Researching and developing policies to address the rise of outsourcing, the “gig economy,” and contingent work structures (“the fissured economy”) to ensure fair wages and job quality;
· Researching and developing policies to address the needs of individuals with arrest and conviction records seeking access to good jobs;
· Ensuring federal and state unemployment insurance systems are equitable, far-reaching, and provide adequate economic supports;
· Developing policies and providing campaign support to raise labor standards at the federal, state, and local levels, with a particular focus on supporting ongoing worker campaigns for increased wages and the right to unionize; fighting back against rollbacks; and eliminating loopholes and waivers of rights that exclude immigrants, people of color, and contingent and temporary workers from core minimum wage protections; and
· Developing worker-centered strategies with a racial justice framework to improve state policies, build worker power, and improve jobless workers' access to unemployment insurance.
The summer interns will assist NELP attorneys in all aspects of this work. While our work may vary depending on demand, past interns have assisted in work such as:
· Providing legal, policy and strategic assistance for policy campaigns, including drafting legislation, legal research and analyses, and policy briefs;
· Providing legal and strategic assistance for worker center organizing campaigns and claims with labor agencies, including conducting legal research and analysis, and liaising with labor agencies;
· Drafting reports, op-eds, and educational materials; and
· Assisting in NELP’s legal strategy to support the workers’ rights movement, including drafting regulatory comments, amicus briefs, and legislative testimony.
Who You Are
· You are a law student who is able to work full-time (35 hours per week) for 10 weeks.
· You are committed and excited to focus on workers’ rights advocacy.
· You are committed to building your racial equity competencies, and you are continuously learning, reflecting, and growing.
· You are self-driven and able to work independently.
· You are self-aware, curious, and respectful with strong interpersonal skills, and you are committed to fostering a sense of purpose and community.
· You operate with a commitment to excellence, integrity, accountability, diplomacy, humility, and camaraderie.
Start Date, Payment, Funding, and Location:
Two full-time (35 hours per week) positions are based out of our New York City office. Each intern will receive $7,000 for the 10-week period. NELP has a hybrid model that requires you to work in-person at least six days per month. This hybrid model seeks to leverage both the benefits of working with colleagues in-person and the benefits of flexible remote arrangements. The start date will be in the Summer of 2026.
The total ten-week stipend for this fellowship will be $7,000.
To Apply:
Applicants should submit the Peggy Browning basic application requirements. While applying through Peggy Browning is highly encouraged, applicants who apply outside Peggy Browning should include a resume, cover letter, and a writing sample. Students are encouraged to apply as early as possible.
Cathy Ruckelshaus
Legal Director & General Counsel
National Employment Law Project
90 Broad Street, Suite 1100
New York, NY 10004
www.nelp.org
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