Recently New York City workers and advocates rallied to demand that Cuomo stop supporting illegal sweatship businesses and start enforcing the labor law. I went to the Department of Labor in 2008 and I am STILL waiting!” said Marco Lino, who worked 78 hours a week at a market for only $350/week.” The NY Department of Labor still has 17,000 open cases and they refuse to investigate wage theft claims the full 6 years back.
Recent proposed New York legislation, the SWEAT bill, would make enforcement of the law possible.
The CoFiA wage theft committee finds the same issues here. In one case that was settled by the NJ Department of Labor allowed the errant employer to agree to pay five workers who were owed $8000 on a weekly schedule that will take seven years to collect!
Volunteers are needed to follow up on complaints we receive that assist workers who are trying to secure payment from employers. Call us at 201-598-2253. No experience needed, but the ability to speak and understand Spanish would be a big help.