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It is thanks to the support of people like you that we can continue to
organize the Latin American immigrant community in the struggle to
secure fair wages, safer workplaceconditions, and greater respect
for the labor and civil rights guaranteed to all.
--Javier Gallardo, Labor Organizer, Latin American Workers Project, Inc.

WORKPLACE JUSTICE PROJECT


 

On March 25, 2005, the 94th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire that killed 146 garment workers, MFY filed suit in Bronx Supreme Court on behalf of three janitors who were routinely locked in overnight at two Bronx supermarkets.

The Workplace Justice Project is working with the Fifth Avenue Committee, a Brooklyn-based advocacy organization, to bring an end to the practice of locking in workers, which is endemic throughout the industry. The suit was filed after the NYC Fire Department and OSHA failed to act effectively to end the lock-ins.

The suit charges the stores with false imprisonment and negligence and demands compensatory and punitive damages. In September 2005, the New York City Council voted to increase fines for stores that lock in workers overnight without access to a fire escape from $500 to $5,000 for the first offense (Intro. 629-B). Violators may face prison terms of up to nine months and are subject to a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for each individual working in a workplace at the time of the violation.
 

Through public education, litigation and policy advocacy, MFY’s Workplace Justice Project is bridging the gap in employment-related legal services for hundreds of low-wage workers who would be unable to access justice without our help. In collaboration with workers’ centers and community-based organizations citywide, the Project trains workers and advocates on workers’ rights, focusing especially on the problems faced by immigrant workers, contingent workers, older workers, and former prisoners re-entering the labor market.

The Workplace Justice Project provides advice, counsel and direct representation to hundreds of workers each year facing unpaid wage claims, employment discrimination, health and safety violations, minimum wage and overtime violations. The Project also works to ensure that employers make appropriate accommodations for victims of domestic violence.

Workers contact us through our weekly helpline or are referred by a workers' center. MFY holds an Employment Law Clinic twice a month, where workers speak directly with an MFY attorney, paralegal, or pro bono attorney to get advice and counsel on an employment problem. The project also connects formerly incarcerated people who are attempting to re-enter the workforce with pro bono attorneys to handle problems with securing licenses.

In three years, the Workplace Justice Project has become the largest provider of free employment-related legal services in New York City. To read about some of the people we have helped, click here.


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