|
 Printer-Friendly Version
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 693-0023
The Labor Department's Employment Standards Administration (ESA) and the
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) today signed a new memorandum of
understanding (MOU) aimed at promoting job opportunities and better working
conditions for legal U.S. workers through strengthened enforcement of fair
labor standards and employer sanctions. A key goal of the agreement, which
clarifies the roles of the two agencies and establishes how and when they will
coordinate operations, is to allay fears in the immigrant community that
prevent complaints about labor abuses by unscrupulous employers from being
filed.
"Commissioner Meissner and I believe this MOU will enhance our
respective agencies' missions to achieve compliance with our immigration law
and basic employment standards, whether it be the minimum wage, overtime,
non-discrimination or other standards for legal workers in the United States,"
said Bernard E. Anderson, Assistant Secretary for the Employment Standards
Administration.
"The Administration is committed to ensuring that workers in abusive
situations can file complaints with the Department of Labor without fear of
repercussions, regardless of their immigration status," said INS Commissioner
Doris Meissner. "In addition, the MOU will sharpen our focus on businesses that
flout U.S. immigration laws by hiring undocumented workers for substandard
wages and employing them under conditions that range from improper to
inhumane."
"With this MOU, ESA will be able to focus its efforts on the source of
illegal immigration, that is, those employers who lure illegal workers into
this country, pay them less than legal workers, and maintain substandard, often
intimidating working environments."
The MOU requires both agencies to appropriately coordinate enforcement.
Labor investigators, when responding to workers' complaints alleging labor
violations will no longer refer suspected violations of immigrations laws to
INS. This action should increase the willingness of undocumented workers to
step forward and report violations. The MOU will also enhance the exchange of
information between the two agencies.
"What we are saying to all workers in the United States through this MOU
is that your rights will be protected," said Anderson. "What we are saying to
employers who hire illegal workers is that you will find no bargain and risk
prosecution."
ESA's Wage and Hour Division is responsible for enforcing laws which
maintain workplace employment standards including the minimum wage and overtime
provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. ESA's Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs enforces laws protecting employees of federal contractors
against all forms of discrimination.
INS is responsible for enforcing Section 274A of the Immigration and
Nationality Act, the provisions commonly referred to as "employer sanctions."
These provisions are an integral part of INS' enforcement mission. While
strengthened border enforcement prevents significant numbers of illegal aliens
from entering the country, worksite enforcement is the primary means of
reducing the job magnet to draw illegal aliens to the United States.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
| 
