Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced the creation of a new Labor Liaison position in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office (DAO) to support the Economic Crimes Unit in investigating and prosecuting crimes against workers. Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Danielle Newsome has been appointed to the position, which is the first of its kind in the City of Philadelphia.
An experienced labor attorney, ADA Newsome will focus on crimes including wage theft, purposeful misclassification to avoid payment of benefits and wages, labor trafficking, worker’s compensation fraud, and unemployment compensation fraud.
“I am proud to appoint ADA Danielle Newsome our first ever labor liaison in the Economic Crimes Unit. Her experience and knowledge about workers’ rights and vulnerabilities to exploitation will increase our ability to prosecute crimes committed against people who historically had few avenues to seek justice,” District Attorney Krasner said. “Employers have enormous power over people, particularly low-wage and undocumented workers, and must be held accountable when they abuse that power, break the law, and take advantage of the vulnerable. The addition of labor liaison ADA Newsome to the District Attorney’s Office will help us make sure workers know their rights and that employers know their responsibilities under the law.”
Prior to joining the DAO in September 2019, Newsome was staff attorney for the Health Professionals and Allied Employees Union, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which is New Jersey’s largest healthcare union. Newsome began her legal career as an associate at the Philadelphia labor and employment law firm of Willig, Williams & Davidson where she represented a variety of public and private sector unions and individual workers. She has also worked as an organizer with unions including the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and the AFT.
“I’m excited to be in this new position and to have the opportunity to protect some of the most vulnerable workers in our city, while we send the message to unscrupulous employers that their conduct will not be tolerated,” ADA Newsome said. “Through my experience as a labor attorney and my conversations with labor leaders across the region, the need for a labor liaison in the DAO is clear. I look forward to helping more vulnerable Philadelphians secure justice with the overall goal of improving labor conditions across the city, because this kind of work benefits all workers, regardless of their industry.”
Newsome has served on the executive board of Philadelphia Jobs with Justice and as president of the Philadelphia Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW). She has extensive experience training union leaders and worker activists, including hosting sessions at the Cornell Strategic Corporate Research Summer School, the United Association for Labor Education (UALE), Northeast Summer School for Women, Labor Notes, and the Penn State/Philadelphia AFL-CIO Labor Activist Academy. Danielle earned her Juris Doctor degree cum laude from the Beasley School of Law at Temple University and her bachelor’s degree from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. Danielle was born and raised in Germantown where she lives today with her family.
Members of the public who wish to file an employment-related criminal complaint may contact the Economic Crimes Unit at 215–656–9902 and fraudcomplaint@phila.gov.
