Monday, May 1, 2017

California Labor and Workforce Development Agency Secretary reaffirm ED the agency’s commitment to worker protections regardless of immigration status



For Immediate Release                                                                           Contact: Garin Casaleggio
May 1, 2017                                                                                               916-653-9900

Secretary Lanier Issues Statement on Labor Protections for Immigrant Workers

SACRAMENTO – California Labor and Workforce Development Agency Secretary David M. Lanier today issued the following statement reaffirming the agency’s commitment to worker protections regardless of immigration status:

“Today on International Workers’ Day, May Day, the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency and its partner departments reiterate that we never ask for – nor do we collect – the immigration status of any worker who files a health and safety or wage theft claim with our offices. It has been longstanding state policy that our labor laws apply to all workers, regardless of immigration status, and that the immigration status of a worker is unnecessary information to enforcing our laws.

“Just because the federal administration has changed, our laws and policies have not.

“We will not tolerate the use of immigration status as a tool of retaliation against workers who are pursuing their rights under California law. 

“The Labor and Workforce Development Agency will continue to work in partnership with community leaders, worker advocates and employers to make sure immigrant workers know they are covered by our state’s workplace protections.”

Employees with work-related questions or complaints may contact the Department of Industrial Relations’ Call Center in English or Spanish at 844-LABOR-DIR (844-522-6734), and more information on wage theft and how to report violations is available through the Labor Commissioner’s Wage Theft is a Crime website. The California Workers’ Information line at 866-924-9757 provides recorded information in English and Spanish on a variety of work-related topics that include wage and hour laws, and workplace health and safety.