November 24, 2025

Community Legal Aid Receives Cy Pres Awards to help low-income workers in Hampden County

BY Cory Mescon, Senior Supervising AttorneyCommunity Legal Aid

Community Legal Aid, the non-profit civil legal aid program serving the low-income and elderly residents of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester Counties, is pleased to announce that it has received six cy pres awards this year that will provide critically needed support for its work enforcing the rights of low-income workers. The awards, totaling over $444,000, result from the settlement of class action employment law cases with ties to Hampden County. Community Legal Aid will utilize the funds to support its Employment Unit, which represents workers with claims related to wage theft, employment discrimination, and family and medical leave issues arising under state and federal laws. The Unit is also the only local provider of free legal assistance for workers fighting for unemployment benefits with cases before the Department of Unemployment Assistance. The cy pres awards will allow Community Legal Aid to bolster our team of attorneys and paralegals helping low-income workers with employment-related legal assistance.

Raymond Dinsmore, Esq. of the Springfield law firm Hayber, McKenna & Dinsmore, LLC, served as the Plaintiff’s counsel for all five cases. Said Attorney Dinsmore, “As an attorney  representing workers in nearly all categories of employment litigation, I know how frequently employers use their power to take advantage of those with fewer resources.  Unfortunately, this happens all too frequently in the workplace. I am thrilled to be able to support the work of Community Legal Aid to vindicate the rights of low-income workers.”

The Senior Supervising Attorney for Community Legal Aid’s Employment Unit, Cory Mescon, said, “We are humbled to be selected for these funds. Week after week we hear from clients who have been wronged by their employer, or who should be getting unemployment benefits, and are without the means, knowledge, or ability to exercise their rights. This award will enable us to continue to stand up to bad actors and achieve tangible results for our clients.”

Cy pres awards allow unclaimed settlement funds from class action lawsuits to be distributed to organizations that will benefit or pursue the interests of the class. According to the Massachusetts IOLTA Committee, “Class action residuals are an ideal way to advance the goal of ensuring equal access to justice and serve the interests that the class action was designed to address.”

About Community Legal Aid:

Community Legal Aid provides free civil legal services to the low-income and elderly residents of the five counties of Western and Central Massachusetts (Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester), and maintains offices in Worcester, Fitchburg, Springfield, Greenfield, Northampton, and Pittsfield. Community Legal Aid works to assure fairness for all in the justice system, protecting homes, livelihoods, health, and families. For more information, please visit www.communitylegal.org.