Cristina Jimenez

Good News for NY Immigrant Workers

As reported by the New York Times, New York State Labor Department’s new pilot program—Wage Watch—“would expose and prosecute abusive employers by enlisting the people who know them best: their immigrant employees.”

The program, first of its kind, aims at establishing formal partnerships with community based organizations in New York City and Long Island to train their members on how to defend their rights in the workplace and report violations to the Division of Labor Standards.

In difficult economic times, this program is well received by immigrant workers—usual victims of wage theft and poor working conditions. As the current recession is only exposing undocumented immigrant workers to further exploitation, this program would help to ensure that the wages and working conditions of non-immigrant and immigrant workers are protected.

Wage Watch benefits all New Yorkers, as DMI argues, everyone benefits when all workers, regardless of their immigration status, are guaranteed equal labor rights.

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Posted at 2:42 PM, Feb 17, 2009 in Immigration | Labor
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