Raising the Level of Basic Workplace Rights Enforcement

Shoring up the Minimum Wage

Enforcing the Minimum Wage for Working Families: A Conference on New Strategies for Communities and Government - Convened by the National Employment Law Project and the Brennan Center for Justice.  In March 2005, representatives from labor, community, faith-based and legal organizations gathered in New York for an informative and productive conference on strategies for ensuring that workers around the country are paid for their work.  We are serious in our desire to maintain the energy and cross-fertilization of ideas that took place during the conference. 
 
For a summary of the conference, Click here for English   Click here for Spanish
For a list of conference participants, Click here
For the conference agenda, Click here for English  Click here for Spanish
For an example list of campaigns, Click here

Resources and Fact Sheets

An Advocate’s Toolkit: Using Criminal “Theft of Service” Laws To Enforce Workers’ Right to be Paid. Prepared by former NELP intern, Rita Verga.  This toolkit is intended to be an accessible guide  for non-lawyer advocates assisting day laborers and other contingent workers to recover unpaid wages.  It details a new tactic which uses criminal “theft of service” laws to hold employers accountable for failing to pay wages.  (December 2004)

50 State Chart of State Laws Creating Criminal Liability for Failure to Pay Wages.  This chart collects provisions of state labor and criminal codes providing criminal penalties for unpaid wages.  (Fall 2004)

Plaintiff's Guide to Small Claims Court in Manhattan.   This guide provides basic information about how to bring a wage claim in small claims court in Manhattan. (revised February 2005)

Understanding Deductions from Wages.   Despite legal restrictions on deductions, employers often try to get around the wage and hour laws by using illegal deductions to reduce the amount that workers get paid. You can protect your right to be paid by understanding when an employer can legally make deductions. (January 2003) 

Protecting Your Right to get Paid—How to Keep Good Wage and Hour Records.  This fact sheet for workers shares record keeping strategies for successful enforcement of unpaid wage claims. (July 2005)

Your Right to Be Paid.  This New York fact sheet for workers explains the key elements of the wage and hour laws. (August 2005)

Tax Issues Relating to Enforcement of Wage and Hour Laws:

New: Recovery of Unpaid Wages for Undocumented Workers:Tax Reporting and Payment Options. When workers succeed in reaching a settlement for unpaid wages or get a court or agency order requiring employers to pay them, both employees and employers have tax reporting and payment requirements.  Increasingly, employers are attempting to use these tax reporting and payment obligations to delay or in some cases avoid altogether paying monies owed to workers. Such tactics should not succeed.  This fact sheet for advocates explains tax obligations and how to respond to employer attempts to avoid responsibility.  (July 2005)

For more information on workplace rights and tax issues, click here.

Ensuring Health and Safety on the Job

NELP Testimony to the New York City Council on the Locked-in Worker Bill.   In 2004, immigrant workers who clean grocery stores throughout New York City began organizing through the Fifth Avenue Committee to combat the practice of grocery stores to lock them in all night while they are cleaning.  This campaign drew the attention of New York City Council Member David Yassky who introduced legislation to address this.   On September 17th, 2005 the City Council passed Intro 629b, a bill that requires additional inspections and increases fines against stores that lock in workers against their will. The new law also includes protections for employees who report their employers and a schedule for increased enforcement.  NELP provided support to this campaign, along with MFY Legal Services, NY Committee for Occupational Safety and Health the NY Immigration Coalition and other groups.  (September 2005)

Barriers to Accessing Agencies: Insistence on Social Security Numbers

Talking Points in Support of Challenges to State Agency Use of Social Security Numbers.   Rhode Island's Department of Labor (RI DOL)  was improperly requiring Social Security Numbers in order to pursue claims for unpaid wages.  A local community group, Progreso Latino organized in opposition to this policy and persuaded the RI DOL to change its policy in November 2004.  NELP provided technical assistance to this campaign, including these talking points (October 2004)

Barriers to Accessing Agencies: Language

Immigrant workers face daunting barriers to accessing state and federally funded wage and hour enforcement programs, health and safety protections, job training, unemployment insurance benefits, workers' compensation benefits and other systems of government support.  Despite legal mandates to acconomdate the needs of limited English speakers, many government agencies administer programs only in English. This section includes resources for advocates seeking to ensure that state and federal agencies are meeting the needs of limited English speakers.

Low Pay, High Risk: Chapter 1: Focus on Civil Rights of Limited English Speakers: Language Access to Government Benefits and Services
This chapter discusses state-level strategies for ensuring that immigrant workers with limited English proficiency have access to state and local benefits and services in languages they understand.  It includes profiles of local campaigns, model laws, talking points and suggestions for what advocates can do. (November 2003)

NELP's Comments On Department of Labor Policies for Serving English Prociency (LEP) Workers  Every day, thousands of immigrant workers turn to Department of Labor programs to protect their health and safety and wage and hour rights, provide them with training and with unemployment insurance and workers' compensation. Every day, they are met with "English Only" policies by recipients of federal funds. NELP has submitted comments to help clarify state agencies' and other entitities' duties to serve limited English speaking workers. (July 2003)

Facts About the Civil Rights of Immigrant Workers to Access Department of Labor Programs and Services  This fact sheet explains the obligations of the Department of Labor to provide access to its programs and services to immigrants who are not proficient in English.  It outlines the needs of immigrant workers for language appropriate services, the current status of DOL's Guidance on services to LEP individuals, and the next steps in enforcement of workers' rights.  (July 2001)

Comments on Department of Labor’s Policy Guidance on the Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination as it Affects Persons with Limited English Proficiency, (hereafter “LEP Guidance”), published in the Federal Register January 17,2001, at 66 Fed. Reg. 4596  Recently, President Clinton's Executive Order requiring federal agencies to publish guidance on services to Limited English Proficient people has come under attack, primarily from "English-only" groups.  NELP, along with 29 labor and community groups from around the country, submitted comments on the Department of Labor's Proposed Guidance.  The comments focus on making the Guidance more protective of immigrants' rights,  to strengthen relationships with immigrant community groups, and to protect the low-wage immigrant workers who most need protection.  (March 2001)