05.18.09
Hispanic Workers Targeted For Workplace Abuse and Discrimination
A recent report released in April of 2009 by the Southern Poverty Law Center illustrates some troubling survey results featuring 500 low income Latinos – including legal residents, undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens from five separate locations in the South. The locations were Nashville, Charlotte, New Orleans, rural southern Georgia, and cities in northern Alabama.
The survey shows that many of these employees were subject to discrimination and violations of civil rights and other workplace abuses. They also faced poor working conditions, were cheated out of wages, and denied basic safety and health protections.
The report clearly indicated that reform legislation is needed in order to protect these victims from labor and civil rights violations. Many of these victims, like most victims of workplace harassment, do not file complaints for fear of retribution, or termination of employment. For more information on this report, please go to www.splcenter.org, and review the full study titled “Under Fire: Life for Low-Income Latinos In The South.”
