Legal News

Immigrants win legal victory against wage and other labor violations

By Richard Binder

Courts and government agencies are beginning to deal with longstanding allegations of underpaid immigrant workers.

Attorney General Jerry Brown's office has a new Underground Economy Unit that investigates businesses for suspected wage abuse, workers' compensation and tax fraud.

Also, thanks to an accord approved last week by U.S. District Court Judge Dale Fischer, 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, the Central Coast and the San Francisco East Bay.

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.

Among the advocates for these workers were Mark Talamantes and Bill Lann Lee.

See these stories.

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on April 06, 2009 (boomark / email).