The Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development has appointed Justin Polk the new Living Wage Administrator for the City of Boston. He will also be handling Wage Theft initiatives.
A resident of West Roxbury, Polk is a lawyer with previous experience in compliance and investigative work. Prior to his appointment, Polk served as labor compliance manager. His previous experience was at the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA), headquartered in Roxbury. His work there was funded by the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program and conducted throughout the country and by telephone as he investigated low-to-moderate income (LMI) mortgage medication scams.
As part of this program, he analyzed state and federal statutes and regulations in order to determine if violations existed and what remedies were available to the LMI homeowners. He also managed NACA’s participation in the Ohio Means Jobs grant program to adhere to program guidelines and worked on compliance issues relating to other NACA grants.
Polk’s work in housing for nonprofits and their partners complements that involved with to labor relations. In addition to his legal skills, he possesses the basic knowledge of general principles, practices, and trends of employer-employee relations, public administration, and business administration. He also has litigation experience and interned for the Massachusetts Appeals Court.
Polk is a summa cum laude graduate of Howard University who also attended Boston University School of Law, where he was active in the Black Law Students Association and competed in Moot Court.
