By Linda Taaffe

Attorneys representing a group of local day laborers suing the city of Los Altos expected to reach a settlement Tuesday after the Town Crier’s press deadline.

Attorney J.C. Flores said negotiators from both sides had agreed to an out-of-court settlement last week and were waiting for the Los Altos City Council’s final approval.

If approved, the settlement would end the 19-month lawsuit and spell out how and where day laborers may seek work in Los Altos.

The Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the law firm Morrison & Foerster filed a lawsuit against the city in February 2002 on behalf of day laborers. After St. Joseph the Worker the Center closed, many workers had no alternative but to stand on the streets to find temporary day jobs.

Los Altos’ No Vehicle Solicitation law prohibits such activity.

The ordinance limits day worker activity on the streets by prohibiting residents from soliciting workers from their vehicles in specifically zoned areas.

The lawsuit aimed to have the city repeal the law or provide a place for day workers to find potential employers.

Attorneys for the day workers claim the ordinance, and the enforcement of it, is allegedly a violation of the workers’ free speech rights under the United States Constitution.

A judge ruled earlier this year that laborers could continue soliciting work from the sidewalk pending settlement of the lawsuit.