In New York, immigrants affected by greedy employers will receive huge compensation
Last Thursday, December 20, a carwash worker received thousands of dollars as a co-payment as part of a more than 5-million agreement with the owner of four car washes in New York and New Jersey.
88 employees, including immigrants from the Republic of Dominican Republic, Mexico, Nigeria, Mali and El Salvador, received from 4 to 5 dollars per hour, which is below the minimum wage, said Stephen Arenson, a lawyer. Car washes are located in Manhattan, the Bronx and Elizabeth, New Jersey.
“They were working outside, no lunch breaks, no rest breaks, in harsh conditions,” Arenson said. “This is a particularly vulnerable workforce, an immigrant workforce. Most of them do not speak English and have recently arrived in the country. They worked in particularly grueling conditions, with chemicals and water.”
“This is life-changing money,” Arenson added. “Finally, justice has been served.”
Each employee will receive up to $ 90 000, depending on how long he worked there. The settlement affected the period from 2007 to 2014 year ..
“We worked 12 hours a day for $35,” said Bronx resident Martin Urena, 62, who worked at three car washes and communicated through a translator. “I worked for this company for over 15 years, and these people always treated us badly.”
Frankie Hernandez, 40, worked at car washes, having arrived in New York from Santo Domingo, from 2003 to 2009. He said that after exhausting working conditions, his bones hurt, and he had to drink medicine to sleep.
“I had to quit because I couldn’t live like this anymore,” Hernandez said through a translator. “We even had to give up our lunch break to avoid being fired.”
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