When an immigrant faces threats or exploitation by their employer, they often have limited recourse. Law students from Seattle University want to change that, pushing for a state bill to strengthen protections for people facing workplace coercion based on their immigration status.
“In the last several years, we have been advocating for legislative changes that would help our clients and this is one of those,” said Elizabeth Ford, a law professor who teaches the workers’ rights clinic at Seattle University.
Sen. Bob Hasegawa, D-Seattle, took up this legislation and introduced Senate Bill 5104, to give workers better tools to avoid workplace threats based on their immigration status and to prevent employers from exploiting the immigration status of employees.
“It’s a shame that we have to try and find every abusive situation and draft a separate bill to deal with it,” Hasegawa said.
An example of workplace coercion would be if an employer notes someone’s immigration status and then asks them to work unpaid overtime.
The bill would require the state’s Department of Labor and Industries to investigate complaints of coercion made against employers and would give the agency the authority to impose civil penalties when violations occur.
When a worker files a complaint, the department will notify the employer. However, language in the bill was added to make personal information from the worker confidential to anyone other than the department and employee.
“Employers have so much more power than workers, it’s the unfortunate truth,” said Yasmene Hammoud, a law student at Seattle University. “But when you add immigration status to the mix, the power dynamic and the leverage that the employer gains is incredibly disproportionate.”
Similar legislation passed in New Jersey last year with bipartisan support.
Concerns came up during committee hearings that the Washington bill may be redundant with existing law.
Under current law, citizens and non-citizens are both entitled to the same standards, rights, and protections in the workplace. There are laws on the books that protect any worker, regardless of their immigration status, from retaliation.
Angelo Tadrous, a law student at Seattle University, said the bill is still necessary and noted that workplace coercion differs from retaliation because it happens before an employee raises an issue. Retaliation happens after the employee does so.
If a worker raises an issue to their employer and the employer responds by withholding wages or rest breaks, that’s retaliation. If this occurs, a worker can file a complaint with the Department of Labor and Industries.
Most complaints regarding coercion don’t get filed until the employee leaves their workplace.
“One of the dynamics of coercion is this, that it silences people. And so that there’s a major risk of coming forward, that’s why coercion works,” Ford said.
The bill was heard on the Senate floor Wednesday and passed on a 40-9 vote. It now awaits action in the House.
“It’s incredibly important to safeguard [immigrant] rights and well-being to really allow the labor law to do what it was designed to do, and that’s to protect workers across the board, regardless of their immigration status,” Hammoud said.
