AG Healey fights for workers’ rights –

Attorney General Maura Healey led a coalition of 11 attorneys general and eight attorneys general and prosecutors from across the country to write a letter supporting workers’ rights on November 15. This letter was developed in support of the US Department of Homeland Security “to plan to change its enforcement practices in the workplace to support the enforcement of wage protections, workplace safety, labor rights and other labor laws and standards, ”according to a press release. In particular, the coalition was concerned about the rights of immigrant workers and was formed with the aim of drafting the letter.

“Each of the leading states is responsible for enforcing labor laws, and we have enforced labor laws on behalf of all workers, regardless of their immigration status. But we’ve all seen that immigrant workers, and particularly undocumented immigrant workers, are more vulnerable to workplace abuse – non-payment of wages, non-payment of minimum wages, and overtime – and we have frequently seen that workers who complain, if they are suspected of being undocumented, employers systematically will threaten them with, ‘I’m going to call ICE, I’m going to call immigration, you’ll be caught. Who do you think they will believe? You’re undocumented, so basically don’t worry, ”said Cynthia Mark, head of the Public Protection and Advocacy Bureau in the Massachusetts attorney general’s office. “So the state and local law enforcement authorities who submitted the letter hope that DHS and their sister agencies will help us protect the rights at work of all workers, including undocumented workers.” . “

The letter the coalition submitted asks DHS to consider several recommendations. These included “[creating] a clear process for prosecutorial discretion, including deferred action, to proactively support workers who cooperate with labor law enforcement agencies, [making] it is explicit that state and local agencies that enforce workplace laws can certify S, T, and U visas, and [limiting] application based on potentially retaliatory advice from employers and [informing] the public that the DHS hotline should not be used for such purposes. It also calls for action to help immigrant workers be aware of their rights and to ban immigration enforcement activities in courthouses or state and local labor departments.

Mark gave two examples of where the rights of immigrant workers have been violated. In one example, a company called Bay State Linen used a recruiting agency called Country Temp. In commercial laundry, they regularly paid minimum wage and no overtime, even though workers worked long hours, often more than 40 hours per week. When AG Healey’s office launched an investigation, the workers later learned that if they did cooperate with the government, “that’s bad for you. It’s bad for everyone, ”according to Mark. Many workers, however, engaged with the government, and the workers obtained compensation. In another case, a Tara Construction worker was injured on the job, falling from a ladder and breaking his leg. The worker approached the company for workers’ compensation, and the employer said he should come to the office and the company would “help. [him] outside. ”The worker went to the office, received money, and as he left the parking lot was arrested, arrested and detained by ICE.

Karen Chen, executive director of the China Progressive Association, said the letter was a step in the right direction and noted that many Asian-American workers were victims of workplace abuse. Undocumented workers, in particular, she said, represent a particularly vulnerable population.

“In some places, the working conditions could be quite severe, but people wouldn’t say anything,” Chen said. “We also know that [in] some franchises or chains, like some suburban malls, offer people a full package. [People] work there, they give you a dorm, but they deduct your money. You have an employer where he controls most of your life. I have seen situations like this. … Over the years we’ve seen a couple of them where you’re hired to work there, and they give you a dorm, and then they have a van that takes you to work and brings you back. … It’s almost like modern day indentured servant-type treatment. It’s not like, ‘Oh, your accommodation is taken care of.’ … It’s difficult, because if you say to yourself, ‘Okay, I can’t take any more. I can’t stand this working environment any longer, this kind of treatment. It’s really hard for workers to say something or get out of it.

Executive director of the Brazilian Workers’ Center, a group that has a partnership with AG Healey’s office, Lenita Reason, described the number of workers who have come to her organization for help with rights violations. at work. She noted the reluctance they have expressed to seek help as they do not want to risk deportation.

“[There was] a worker who came to complain about his salary, and then they said, ‘It’s okay. Leave him alone. I don’t want to deal with this, because my employer said I could go to sleep in America and wake up in Brazil, ”Reason said. “We even had cases of physical violence. … We had workers in conditions that almost looked like trafficking conditions, because they were working and not being paid and living in a place that was owned by the employer.

Reason said the coalition letter gave him hope workers would be more willing to come forward to report issues.

“I hope that with this letter … workers will feel more protected, and they will feel that they don’t have to be so afraid to speak out against all the injustices and exploitation that are happening in the workplace. job. We can send a message to employers because when a worker doesn’t say anything, you know there are a lot of others who are in the same situation, ”Reason said. “If someone comes forward and suffers retaliation [against], it sends a message to others that they shouldn’t be talking. So with this letter, I believe that if they feel at ease and that they do not have to be afraid, that there are labor laws which protect them, they will arrive… We cannot everything change or fix everything, but that will make things a little easier, and we will protect as many workers as possible. “