ShareThisIn a major legal win for immigrant workers, thousands of California construction workers will start receiving checks April 15 to compensate for unpaid wages and other alleged labor violations committed during California's housing boom.
The $8.5 million legal settlement benefits nearly 3,100 former and current workers for several companies that built houses in Southern California, the Central Valley, Central Coast and San Francisco East Bay.
A few workers initiated the complaint in 2006 after approaching a Spanish-speaking attorney, but lawyers say the case grew into one of the biggest class-action lawsuits in California involving mostly Latino construction laborers, including some who are undocumented.
"We hope that this sends a strong message that all workers have rights," said one of the attorneys, Gladys Limon of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund's Los Angeles office.
The construction settlement isn't the only indication that courts and government agencies are dealing with long-standing allegations of underpaid immigrant workers.
State Attorney General Jerry Brown's office has a new Underground Economy Unit that investigates businesses for suspected wage and workers' compensation abuse and tax fraud.
And in Tulare County -- a week after the construction workers' settlement -- a Superior Court judge signed off on a nearly $1.28 million settlement for immigrant dairy workers in the Central Valley.
Suits like these help counter fear among undocumented workers -- and legal immigrants -- who assume they are not covered by the same labor rights as citizens or are intimidated and afraid to assert themselves, Limon said.
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund received a rare endorsement for its victory from Minuteman Project leader Jim Gilchrist, who supports strong measures to deport illegal immigrants. "The lawyers are doing the right thing in going after these slave-trading employers," he said.
But federal officials, he suggested, should now look into prosecuting the businesses for hiring illegal immigrants and deport the workers -- with the money they're entitled to get.
California civil code specifically states that "for purposes of enforcing state labor and employment laws, a person's immigration status is irrelevant to the issue of liability."
The dairy settlement benefits about 650 workers, and is believed to be the largest class-action back-wage agreement involving California's dairy industry, according to Mark Talamantes of San Francisco, one of the employees' attorneys.
He has handled five cases over the past decade on behalf of immigrant dairy workers. His partner on some of these cases, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, reports that dairy workers often report to their offices with complaints of unpaid overtime.
Attorney Bill Lann Lee, who was President Bill Clinton's chief of civil rights in the Justice Department, was part of the team representing the construction workers.
If illegal immigrants are not included under labor rights, he said, employers could have unbridled license to hire and exploit them.
"As a matter of policy, you do not want to create two classes of workers," Lee said.
Reach Susan Ferriss at sferriss(at)sacbee.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com
Must credit Sacramento Bee
Hellom
Thank you for your eye opening post on the situation that thousands of immigrant Latino construction workers were dealing with along the Central Coast, Central Valley, and here in Southern California. I am appalled at the fact that laborers attempted to earn an honest day’s work, while employers decided to treat them as slaves, withholding their pay and at the same time committing labor violations that in turn violated their civil rights. The fact that workers initiated the whole investigation into the wrongdoing by their employers speaks volumes to the will and determination that these people had. Because of them, 3100 workers will benefit from over 8.5 million dollars in back pay. Gladys Limon of the Mexican American Legal defense and Educational Fund’s office in Los Angeles stated, “We hope that this sends a strong message that all workers have rights”. Although this may have been one of the single biggest class-action law suits in California’s history, it by no means is the first and probably not the last. Another law suit that has brought attention to the ordeal that immigrants face was the decision handed down by a Superior Court judge, awarding nearly 1.28 million dollars in settlement money for dairy workers in Central Valley. Personally, I am glad that the law is being enforced regardless of legal status of the person. This sentiment was repeated by an unlikely source, from Minuteman Project leader Jim Gilchrist who said, “The Lawyers are doing the right thing going after these slave-trading employers”. Even though he feels adamant about the deportation of illegal immigrants, he stills sees the need to uphold the law. Although laws do exist that protect the civil rights of all workers, many are rendered helpless. They fear deportation more than the violations that they endure. Employers have this knowledge and use it to their advantage; they keep exploiting the workers and often use their illegal status against them. They are constantly threatened with being reported to the authorities and the eventual deportation. You have a wonderful blog that has current information regarding immigration issues, while having vital links that can inform the public on what to do in order to get involved. I have only one question, what do you think is the solution to this problem? Do we continue try and chase down the perpetrators, or do we allow more immigrants legal status to curtail the exploitation by employers?