New report reveals California immigrant workers are routinely subject to retaliation by employers

On Wednesday, March 6th at 10:30 am in Capitol Room 317, legislators, labor leaders and immigrant rights groups will call for stronger protections for California’s immigrant workers. At the press conference, the National Employment Law Center will be releasing a new report, Workers' Rights on ICE: How Immigration Reform Can Stop Retaliation and Advance Labor Rights--California, from that shows California’s immigrant workers are routinely subject to abuse and retaliation from unscrupulous employers.

FILED UNDER: Immigrant Workers | Immigration Reform | Legislation | Retaliation

Study details how employers use immigration enforcement to retaliate against workers, and points to opportunities for reform in current immigration debate.

New York—With immigration reform under serious consideration in Congress, a report released Tuesday by the National Employment Law Project exposes how current immigration policies intended to stop employers from hiring undocumented workers have instead allowed unscrupulous employers to evade both immigration and labor laws.

Through nearly two-dozen case studies, the report paints a shocking picture of how employers use immigration enforcement, or the threat of it, to retaliate against workers who seek to exercise their basic workplace rights. In many instances, workers who tried to collect unpaid wages, report safety violations, escape abuse by their employers, or organize in the workplace were detained and deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with little recourse for their labor rights.

Former U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis endorsed the findings of the report. “As U.S. labor secretary, my top priority was to protect the labor rights of all workers, including those seeking a path to citizenship,” Solis said. “We must never allow immigration status to be used as a weapon to silence the courageous individuals who stand up against wage theft and other labor abuses. While I’m proud of the protections that the Labor Department has put in place for immigrant workers, there is still more to do. The protections we pioneered at the Labor Department need to be included as part of immigration reform.”

FILED UNDER: Immigrant Workers | Immigration Reform | Retaliation

The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices of the U.S. Department of Justice—Civil Rights Division is accepting comments as it prepares to develop guidelines on the topic of employer self-audits of I-9 forms. Comments can be submitted by email to: Osc.Engagement@usdoj.gov, and must be received by Friday, November 9, 2012.

The Dolores Street Community Services, Impact Fund, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Project, National Employment Law Project, National Immigration Law Center, and Women’s Employment Law Clinic of Golden Gate University School of Law encourage advocates for low-wage immigrant workers to timely submit comments to the OSC. Read more for key points to raise....

FILED UNDER: I-9/Employer Audits | Immigrant Workers | Retaliation

Immigrant Workers at La Boulange May Lose Job to I-9 Reverification [SF CBS] 

Latino Supermarket Sparks Outrage After Joining E-Verify [Fox News]

Mi Pueblo Markets Came Under US Immigration Audit [San Jose Mercury News]

Supermarket That Joined E-Verify Part of Immigration Probe [LA Times]

Anti-Immigrant Group Launches Racist Ad Campaign to Pit African-Americans Against Immigrants [ThinkProgress]

FILED UNDER: E-Verify | I-9/Employer Audits | Immigrant Workers | Retaliation

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division has released a fact sheet on retaliation by employers against workers. The fact sheet provides specific examples of unlawful retaliation for complaints about wage violations, and makes explicit that threats of negative consequences --including threats of reporting to immigration authorities -- constitute illegal retaliation. The fact sheet is available in English, Spanish, and Portugese.

FILED UNDER: Retaliation