Although we may pretend otherwise, we are not super humans. At some tipping point, the sheer number of cases assigned to an individual makes it impossible for them to provide competent and ethical advocacy. Excessive caseloads lead to burnout and attrition. This problem is pervasive, impacting all of our staff in varying degrees or ways.

The Appellate Division operates under an archaic “production system,” which places unnecessary value on pumping out briefs, instead of a careful reflection of complex issues or the client’s best interests.

Until the OSPD implements a system to control workload assignments, it is failing its employees and failing to effectively serve our clients. It communicates that they are willing to sacrifice our well-being and facilitates the anti-defendant, case-processing goals of a corrupt criminal legal system.

DUC is committed to finding a better way to control the volume of work and preserve employee health and well-being.

There is no easy job in the system. The demands of serving the indigent accused are all-consuming and take a toll on everyone willing to dedicate themselves to this role. At a minimum, all employees should be paid a livable, competitive wage.

We should not have full-time employees who have to work a second job to pay their bills. It is offensive that we consistently give more work than can reasonably be accomplished in 40 hours a week to our admin, paralegals, social workers, and investigators without adequate compensation for their time, efforts, and skills.

We must secure more competitive pay for all positions to increase retention and sustainability.

The OSPD consistently includes “Spanish speaking preferred” in job postings, as a significant number of our clients do not speak English. As a result, the Spanish speakers in our system often receive additional work because of this skill but they do not receive any additional compensation. Skill pay for a second language is common practice in both the private and public sectors. DUC seeks to rectify this inequity and ensure all employees receive fair compensation for their specialized skills.

The OSPD fosters a culture where using PTO is either looked down upon or nearly impossible to use given our workloads. At the end of every fiscal year, employees lose hours of PTO and their hard-earned money due to this reality.

This culture must change. DUC recognizes that our employees fight tirelessly in the trenches of injustice, enduring enormous stress and trauma. We need time to recharge, rest, and regroup in order to thrive and continue fighting. Together, we can foster a culture where using PTO is not only respected but encouraged as an important part of long-term sustainability. Employees also need greater opportunities for sabbaticals, part-time or prorated work, and flexible remote options.

Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

DUC is firmly committed to making the OSPD a safer and more welcoming agency for employees and clients from marginalized, underrepresented, or historically excluded communities. This includes, but is not limited to, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, neurodivergent, and immigrant communities. We believe the OSPD must commit to ongoing, comprehensive, mandatory training on the full range of diversity, equity, and inclusion issues for employees at all levels in the organization.

Many seemingly neutral policies and decisions have disparate impacts on marginalized communities and must be reassessed with those impacts in mind. This includes but is not limited to the OSPD's compensation policies, leave policies, benefits, remote work policies, HR and grievance processes, placement policy for new attorneys, and recruitment and retention priorities.

Employees require - and through DUC, we demand - a meaningful seat at the table. We are the ones in the trenches, closest to the realities of the work, the clients, the courts and prosecutors. We are the lifeblood of this indigent defense practice. It is long overdue that non-management employees have a real voice in setting the budgetary, legislative, and strategic priorities for the system.

The ability to give feedback and criticism to management not only helps eliminate bad management practices that cause attrition but also helps create positive office culture and innovation. Thus, employees must have increased opportunities to provide feedback and communicate their concerns in a safe, anonymous fashion. This includes meaningful and regular performance reviews of supervisors.

All employees crave growth in skills and aptitudes, as well as career advancement. Effective training programs improve employee satisfaction and retention. The current OSPD training program focuses on new hires and once-a-year, repetitive substantive training that fails to support long-term growth in skills. More diversified training opportunities are necessary to better support and assist all employees with different career goals and growth.