Notice! Restore Louisiana will not give Interim Housing Assistance to all who expect it.

Restore Louisiana recently made changes to its rental assistance policies. These changes mean fewer people will receive rental assistance while their homes are being repaired. 

This change even affects people who were told orally by Restore Louisiana that they would get rental assistance while their homes are being repaired. We are unsure if it affects people who received written approval for rental assistance but have not started receiving it.

Under the new policy, only homeowners under Solution 1 with reconstruction projects will receive financial assistance. Homeowners with Solution 1 repair projects will no longer receive any assistance. 

A Restore Inspector has or will come to your home to do a Damage Assessment. The Damage Assessment tells you if Restore will repair or reconstruct your home. 

Restore Louisiana changed these policies in March 2024. Before March 2024, Restore Louisiana offered rental assistance to Solution 1 homeowners with certain repair projects when needed to complete construction.  

If your home is being repaired under Solution 1 and you need to leave for the repairs to be completed, you can ask Restore Louisiana for an exception based on your circumstances. There is no guarantee that you will receive an exception. 

You can review the entire updated policy manual here: https://www.restore.la.gov/program-policy-manual. The policy at issue is at 125-132.

Did you have to wait hours for the judge to call for your Unemployment Benefits Hearing?

Did something go wrong? 

Did you have to wait hours for the judge to call you? Did you lose because you missed the judge’s call or some other technical problem with the call?

If so, SLLS may be able to help!

The standard wait time for an unemployment benefits hearing is 30 minutes. If you had to wait several hours or longer, and something went wrong with your case, an attorney may be able to help you.

Please contact SLLS at 1-844-244-7871 for more information or visit our website to apply for services here.

ISSUES FOR THE 2024 FEDERAL INCOME TAX FILING SEASON

You can now file your federal and state income tax returns for 2023. Here's what you should know:

The state of Louisiana does not regulate tax preparers.

If you need a tax preparer, choose carefully. Some tax preparers will put false information on your return to get more money from your refund. You are responsible for what is on your tax return, even if someone else prepares it.

Take steps to protect yourself.

Review the return and ask questions if you need help understanding an entry.

If the IRS audits your return, you will be responsible for paying back any refunds you should not have received, not the preparer.  Putting false information on a return is also a crime.  If the IRS chooses to pursue criminal charges, you may face large criminal fines or jail time.

The most common information that is falsified on returns is:

The number of dependents living in your household.

A dependent must be a minor or permanently disabled to be claimed for the Earned Income Tax Credit.  The dependent must also have lived in your household for most of the year.  The IRS may ask for medical and school records to show that a dependent lived at your address.

Income the taxpayer did not earn.

This is usually income from self-employment. The IRS may ask for bank statements to prove your income.

Business expenses that the taxpayer did not actually pay.

The IRS may ask for business records, receipts, or canceled checks to show you paid the expenses.

False transportation expenses.

The newest scam in the New Orleans area is to claim that a taxpayer has a transportation business and then ask for a refund based on a large amount of fuel used for the business.  The IRS easily flags these returns since they usually state that the taxpayer used a ridiculous amount of fuel during the year, and the necessary information about the fleet of vehicles is not provided.

It is a bad sign if the tax preparer does any of the following things:

• Asks you to sign authorization to file a return before you see the actual return. They should not ask you to sign a partially completed or blank return.
• Does not ask you for tax documents such as W-2s, 1099s, or business records
• Will not sign the return or does not have authorization to file electronic returns under their name.

How can you choose a good tax preparer?

Do your research.

Do an online search on the company or preparer to see if there are any reviews of their work.  You can also check the Better Business Bureau website to see if any complaints have been filed against the company or person.

Search the IRS website.

The IRS website, www.irs.gov, has a list of preparers who have authorization to file tax returns electronically.

Use a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA Program).

The VITA provides return preparation services for low to moderate-income people.  These are tax professionals who volunteer their time.  Call 1-800-906-9887 for information about VITA programs in your area.

Here are some other common tax issues to look out for.

Public Benefits

If you receive public benefits such as a housing voucher, the agency may request copies of your tax returns.

If you listed income on the return that was not reported to the agency, you may lose your housing voucher or be asked to pay back benefits that you received.  This is another reason to check your return carefully.

Pandemic Stimulus Checks

If you did not receive the pandemic stimulus funds or the larger child tax credits issued in 2020 and 2021, you can request those credits by filing a 2020 and/or 2021 federal tax return and asking for the funds as a refund.

Taxpayers only have three years from the due date of a return to request a refund, so April 15, 2024, will be the last date to request the pandemic funds for 2020.

Where else can I get help with my tax problem:

Southeast Louisiana Legal Services has a Tax Clinic called the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC).  We provide free legal representation for people who have a dispute with the IRS. We can help:

• People who owe federal tax liability they cannot repay.
• People whose returns are being audited.
• People who need to file for Injured or Innocent Spouse relief.
• People have been the victims of ID theft with the IRS.

We help people throughout Louisiana, not just the New Orleans area. To apply for services, call Lynnette Tillis (877) 521-6242, ext. 225 (toll-free), or apply on our website, slls.org.

For Immediate Release

Date: March 21, 2024

Contact: Laura Tuggle, ltuggle@slls.org, 504-529-1000 x 270

Southeast Louisiana Legal Services Receives $1.8 Million Gift from MacKenzie Scott

New Orleans, LA—Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) recently received a $1.8 million donation from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving, part of her pledge to donate most of her wealth back to society. This is SLLS’ single largest donation in its history. The funds will help SLLS increase access to justice for vulnerable low-income people across southeast Louisiana.

SLLS strives to break down legal barriers and make fair and equal access to justice possible for the people who need it most. Free civil legal aid can help vulnerable people with life’s most basic needs, like protecting families from domestic violence, helping seniors keep their homes, recovering from disasters, ensuring people living with disabilities have stable lives, and securing access for all to our system of justice.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, SLLS has received several awards and recognitions for its innovative response to meeting client needs in challenging conditions. Our New Orleans Right to Counsel eviction diversion project was lauded by the White House for its high success rate. SLLS’ Homeless One Stop Legal Clinic team received the 2023 Louisiana State Bar Association Innovation in Legal Services Award.

“Civil legal aid is an often overlooked but essential solution to stabilizing families in crisis,” said SLLS Executive Director Laura Tuggle. “Many families in Louisiana are still struggling with economic losses from COVID-19, Hurricane Ida, and challenging economic conditions. This unprecedented gift will help us continue to drive innovative solutions to bridge the justice gap.”

About Southeast Louisiana Legal Services
Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) fights for fairness in the justice system. We provide free civil legal aid to low-income people across 22 parishes in southeast Louisiana. We have six offices: Baton Rouge, Covington, Hammond, Harvey, Houma, and New Orleans. Our mission is to achieve justice for low-income people in Louisiana by enforcing and defending their legal rights through free legal representation, advocacy, and community education. For more information about SLLS, visit www.slls.org and follow us on Facebook (@SLLShelps).

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: Promotional Photography and Videography

ABOUT SLLS

Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) provides free legal assistance to indigent and other vulnerable people who cannot afford to hire a lawyer. We protect their livelihoods, health, housing, and families. Through legal representation, we can assure fairness for our clients as they navigate through the civil justice system. SLLS works to combat the inequities and disproportionate impacts faced by marginalized communities of color. We are the largest nonprofit civil legal services provider in Louisiana serving 50% of the state’s poverty population in twenty two parishes across southeast Louisiana.

OVERVIEW

SLLS seeks proposals for the creation of an organizational promotional video, promotional videography with client testimonials, a 30-second PSA video, and new commercial photography to enhance its outreach and community engagement efforts. All promotional materials should be visually appealing and engaging, and encourage clients, volunteers, donors, and the community to learn more about SLLS and its resources.

GOALS

The organizational promotional video should be consistent with SLLS branding and:

• Length: 3 minutes
• Content: SLLS services, impact, client, staff, volunteer, and stakeholder testimonials
• Target Audience: General public

The 30-second PSA video should be consistent with SLLS branding and:

• Content: SLLS disaster legal services, referencing two-year Hurricane Ida Impact
• Target Audience: Client Population

The organizational photographs should align with the website redesign and:

• Content: Staff interaction with clients, community outreach events, on-site photos with disaster-impacted
  clients, volunteer interaction with clients and staff
• Target Audience: General public

The organizational videography should be consistent with SLLS branding and:

• Incorporate client testimonials from key clients in the Southeast Louisiana region.
• Target Audience: General public

ADDITIONAL NEEDS

The ability to customize videos and images for sharing on social media and SEO

TIMELINE

We would like to have new commercial photographs, an organizational promotional video, promotional videography with client stories, and a 30-second PSA video by March 2024.

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Proposals should be submitted by December 23, 2023 to Lynette Martin at lmartin@slls.org. Proposals should include at minimum:

• Description of the firm and a general overview of qualifications
• Timeline and budget for completing the project

You can download the RFP here.

SLLS wants to hear from the community it serves. We need your input for our latest study of the biggest legal needs facing low-income people in our area.

Please take a few minutes for these quick surveys.  Each one takes about three minutes. You can do any or all of them. SLLS needs and values this data.

If you use a computer, you may need to press “CTRL” while clicking a link. You may need to paste a link into a browser window.

• Legal Needs big picture -- take our overview survey here or here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MGQFBNG
• Work issues – take the survey here or here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KRDFCHB
• Government Aid issues – take the survey here or here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KTYMP76
• Money & Debt issues – take the survey here or here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/M3PR65W
• Housing issues – take the survey here or here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KRSTNNF
• Family issues – take the survey here or here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KTRBVWM

There is an English-Spanish dual language version of the overview survey to reach out to people who prefer to use Spanish:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MGTJN6B

Our online application is temporarily down, but we are still accepting applications for legal help. You can apply by calling us at 1-844-244-7871 or walking into one of our offices. There is a list of our offices here.

The information provided on this post does not, and is not intended to, represent legal advice. All information available on this site is for general informational purposes only. If you need legal help, you should contact a lawyer. You may be eligible for our free legal services and can apply by calling our Covid Legal Hotline at 1-844-244-7871 or applying online here.

FEMA’s trailer and temporary housing program will last until Feb. 29, 2024, for survivors of Hurricanes Ida, Delta, or Laura.

Here are three important things you need to remember:

1. You must pay rent to stay in your trailer or unit.
2. FEMA always charges a whole month of rent! If you live in a trailer or other unit part of a month, you must pay for the entire month.
3. If you live in a FEMA trailer, check with your local officials about zoning rules. Some Parishes made short-term zoning rules to allow people to have FEMA trailers.

If you have questions, you can contact FEMA.

You can call (225) 346-4119 to talk about trailers with FEMA.

What should I do if I have disaster aid or contractor problems?

If you qualify, you can get free legal help from Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS).

To apply for help, you can:

• Call our Disaster Hotline: 1-844-244-7871
• Apply online 24/7 at slls.org
• Walk into an SLLS office: https://slls.org/contact-us/

Other Online Disaster Legal Resources:

• Louisiana Law Help: louisianalawhelp.org
• National Disaster Legal Aid Resources Center: https://www.ladrc.org/

To stay up to date with news and deadlines, visit our blog: https://slls.org/blog/

From August 24 - September 1, 2023 SLLS will modify its operations due to mandatory staff training.

From August 24 - 25, 2023 SLLS will be open for emergency intakes only for evictions with court dates for our Orleans Parish Right to Counsel program and Child in Need of Care (CINC) cases.

From August 28 - August 30, 2023  all SLLS offices will be closed to the public. Help desks, outreach events, legal clinics, and eviction desks will not be staffed during this time.

SLLS will reopen from August 31 - September 1, 2023 for emergency intakes, including evictions, urgent legal deadlines (within seven days), Child in Need of Care (CINC) cases, and protective orders.

Normal operations will resume on September 5th.

Online applications will not be accepted at this time. For emergency assistance, call 1-844-244-2871.

I. Overview

Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) extends this Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Consultant to conduct a Compensation Analysis.  The Consultant will work with SLLS’ management and Board of Directors Personnel Committee.

SLLS is a nonprofit tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization that provides high quality legal assistance to people with low-income in civil matters. SLLS serves clients in twenty-two parishes in southeast Louisiana from seven office (Baton Rouge, Covington, Gretna, Hahnville, Hammond, Houma, and New Orleans).  SLLS works to remove barriers to opportunity, ensuring access to shelter, economic security, safety and health through direct legal representation in civil cases, policy advocacy, and community legal education. SLLS has 160+ employee of which about 70% are lawyers and engages hundreds of volunteer attorneys and dozens of law students every year.

Pre-pandemic and prior to 2021’s catastrophic Hurricane Ida, SLLS had about 100 team members on staff. We now have about 165 staff working from seven offices, staff embedded onsite with other partners such as hospitals, medical clinics, homeless shelters, domestic violence victim service centers, community colleges, and robust pro bono partnerships. We have almost 100 different funding sources though LSC funding is about 45% of our budget with another almost 30% from the Louisiana Bar Foundation.

Under SLLS’ current leadership, its salary scale was refreshed in 2018, 2020, and 2022 with a $2,000 lump sum salary supplement for all staff in 2023. Excluding its leadership positions which are off the salary scale, SLLS has three primary position types – Managing Attorneys, Staff Attorneys, and Support Staff. There is a maximum starting salary for new hires up to 15 years of experience. SLLS has annual steps of $1,800 for attorneys and $800 for support staff. The steps have not been changed in over a decade. SLLS removed caps on annual steps for staff after 10 years of employment in 2021 to prevent staff from getting maxed out on their annual salary.

SLLS wishes to conduct an analysis of salaries and benefits including comparison to the nonprofit and government sector for the local market.  The goal of this project is to ensure that SLLS’ compensation package remains competitive to attract and retain staff, is respectful and supportive of staff, is an appropriate use of resources, and reflects SLLS’ commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

II. SLLS’ Salary Structure

Under SLLS’ current leadership, our salary scale was developed in 2018 and refreshed based on an internally conducted salary scale study in 2020 and 2022. SLLS has provided a one-time lump sum salary supplement of $2,000 for all staff irrespective of position in 2023.  The key elements of SLLS’ current salary structure are:

• SLLS’ Compensation Philosophy reflects a commitment to providing a competitive, transparent compensation package that encourages employee development and growth. As part of this policy, SLLS Aid commits to periodic review of salary ranges and positions to ensure ranges are appropriate and based on market analysis.
• No position has a starting salary of lower than $15 per hour.
• Starting salaries are based on comparable salaries in the non-profit and government sector in the southeast region
• For new hires, each position type has a minimum and maximum starting point up to 15 years of experience.
• Starting salaries are set based on years of experience, language fluency for languages regularly used for SLLS clients, and other factors for support staff.
• Staff automatically (subject to funding and satisfactory performance) receive an $1,800 annual step increase for attorneys and an $800 annual step increase for support staff
• Staff working with SLLS for more than 10 years are no longer maxed out on a maximum amount of steps
• Information for SLLS’ current salary scale is included as Attachment 1 to this proposal

III.      This Project

SLLS seeks a consultant to:

• Conduct a market analysis of salary for all positions.
• Work with SLLS to review job descriptions for positions and to make recommendations for how to incentivize longevity such as by creating new staff classification types and other measures
• Make recommendations for changes in position and their compensation based on the analysis above.
• Conduct comparable market analysis of benefits provided, including health insurance, retirement plan, time off, and other benefits.
• Make recommendations for changes in benefits package where appropriate.
• Make recommendations regarding changes to SLLS’ step increase levels
• Provide a final report to the SLLS Personnel Committee describing research completed, process engaged, recommendations and reason for those recommendations.

IV. Steps and Timeline

The planned timeline for this project is:

• Deadline for proposal submission September 5, 2023
  • Direct Questions and submit proposals to Shannan Latino, Human Resources Manager at slatino@slls.org
• Selection and identification of terms of engagement: September 13, 2023
• Completion of Analysis: November 15, 2023
  • Stage 1 – Salary Scale Recommendations: November 15, 2023
  • State 2 – Recommendations for Step Increases: December 31, 2023
  • Stage 3 – Benefits Review: March 31, 2024
  • Stage 4 – Recommendations to Incentivize Longevity: June 30, 2024

Note:  Timeline is subject to change based on SLLS and consultant schedules. Recommendations may be delivered in stages including Stage 1 -Salary Scale recommendations Stage 2 – Recommendations for Step Increases Stage 3- Benefits Review Stage 4- Recommendations to Incentivize Longevity

V. Proposal Content

Responses to this Request for Proposal should be no longer than 8 pages long (shorter proposals are welcome) and include the following:

• Firm description, including how long the firm has been in business, specialty areas, and experience providing compensation analysis services to not-for-profit and other professional organizations.
• Identification of the staff who will work on the project. Describe their experience, education, training, and professional certifications
• Description of your commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and information regarding the diversity of your workforce.
• Description of your engagement with mission-driven organizations where organizational values have significantly impacted compensation structure and how that orientation informed your work.
• Statement of your understanding of the work required and how you will approach this project, including work plan and timeline.
• Description of how your approach will assist SLLS on its path to become a more diverse, equitable and inclusive organization.
• Three current or former clients who we may contact as references.
• Statement of your fees for this work, including an indication of whether you propose a flat fee or hourly fee.  SLLS prefers a flat fee proposal. If the proposed fee is hourly based, provide the estimated number of hours required.  Please include the responsibilities and services covered by these fees.

VI. Evaluation Criteria and Award of Contract

SLLS may elect to schedule interviews with potential consultants prior to awarding a final contract. Please include contact information for scheduling purposes in the RFP.

Proposals will be evaluated upon the contractor’s responsiveness to the RFP, qualifications, demonstrated experience with similar projects, and total price quoted for all items covered by the RFP. Award of the contract resulting from the RFP will be based upon the most responsive contract that is most advantageous to SLLS in terms of cost, functionality, experience, and quality of past work.

SLLS ideally seeks a firm that understands its needs as a nonprofit and legal services organization and is invested in our mission of achieving justice and social change by fighting poverty.

SLLS reserves the right to accept or reject any and all proposals and to waive any minor discrepancies or technicalities in the proposal or specifications, when deemed to be in the best interest of SLLS. We also reserve the right to negotiate with all respondents to the RFP and reject any or all offers and discontinue this RFP process without obligation or liability to any respondent.

VII. Cost of Proposals

SLLS will not pay any costs associated with preparing proposals in response to this RFP.

You can download the request for proposals here.