Undocumented immigrants enduring abuses from employers such as wage theft, safety infractions and gender discrimination can now obtain deportation relief when they report workplace violations to a government agency, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently announced. The new policy grants temporary legal status to workers who cooperate with investigators.
Workers’ rights groups have been urging the federal government to expand existing protections for foreign workers after Public Integrity described the increased risk of wage theft and unsafe working conditions immigrants faced during the pandemic. Undocumented workers often avoid reporting labor violations because employers can punish them by revealing their legal status to immigration authorities.
The new rules expand what is known as “Deferred Action” — a discretionary and temporary form of immigration relief. The program is most often used to obtain deportation protection for crime victims or witnesses who cooperate with law enforcement.
The process will now be simplified and expedited, with only one U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office handling all applications. The agency will also speed up the process for workers to receive temporary work permits.
Sur Legal, a non-profit legal aid group based in Atlanta, is one of the organizations that pushed for the changes.
“This is an important step towards empowering immigrant workers to hold abusive employers accountable and improving working conditions...
You don't have permission to access "http://www.marketscreener.com/news/ibma-s-17-million-dei-settlement-a-watershed-moment-for-false-claims-act-enforcement-ce7f59ddd989f021" on this server. Refer...