On June 14, 2019, WJCNY filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York alleging claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, New York Labor Law, and the New York Real Property Law. The action was filed on behalf of Plaintiff George Hatfield II against Dari Del Inc., Manino Brothers Holdings, LLC, Manino Brothers, Inc. and Samuel A. Manino. Mr. Hatfield served as a manual laborer in Defendants’ profitable Herkimer-based dairy production, processing, distribution and retail businesses.

Mr. Hatfield, who lost his hearing at a young age, was thrilled when he and his wife found an advertisement for dairy work in Central New York. Mr. Hatfield longed for an opportunity to return to Herkimer County where he was born and raised. He didn’t bargain that his return would be conditioned upon exposing himself to severe labor abuses; a grueling seven day, eighty-plus hour work-week schedule and living in unsafe and uninhabitable housing. Throughout the duration of his employment, he was paid less than three dollars per hour while required to live in on-site, overcrowded and substandard housing with his wife and ten-year-old child. He performed a broad range of arduous tasks for Defendants, including non-agricultural work.  

Despite his tireless work, Defendants denied Mr. Hatfield basic minimum wage pay, overtime pay, subjected him to unlawful payroll practices, unlawfully deducted wages from his paychecks and committed numerous additional employment and housing law violations. The lawsuit seeks unpaid minimum wage and overtime compensation, statutory liquidated damages, attorneys fees, costs, prejudgment interest, and damages for housing violations, unlawful deductions, spread of hours violations, and inadequate pay notices.

On the matter from WJCNY is staff attorney John Marsella, assisted by paralegal Gabriel Marcano. Click here to read the full complaint. 

WJCNY attorneys, representing the plaintiffs in the matter of Bisono et al. v. TDL Restoration et al., won in a jury trial completed on Monday, May 6 following seven days of arguments before the U.S. District Court in White Plains, NY. The jury in this case found in favor of the Plaintiffs, Jose Bisono, Joaquin Vicente and Edgar Mendez, on all questions and awarded the maximum damages permissible for violations of Federal and State labor laws. This is a vindication of the workers' rights and holds their former employer accountable for not paying them their earned wages. Bringing this case was not easy and required tremendous effort from the Plaintiffs, extensive legal work by their attorneys and substantial community support. However, the positive outcome should encourage others who face illegal exploitation to seek justice. Lead WJCNY attorney on the case was legal director Robert McCreanor, joined by WJCNY staff attorneys Maureen Hussain and John Marsella, paralegals Nathalia Rosado-Oliveras and Ken Wolkin, worker rights advocate Cristian Avila and administrative staff Diana Saguilan and Amanda Batista.

In an effort to continually ensure that we are doing the best we can to serve our communities, we invite your feedback. We deeply appreciate your time in completing the survey (linked below) about your experiences with WJCNY. 

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WJCNY staff members were honored to be invited to serve as panelists during this year’s SOMOS Conference which took place this past weekend in Albany. SOMOS, Inc., is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)3 organization committed to addressing the needs of the Hispanic population of New York State in collaboration with the NYS Assembly/Senate Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force. The SOMOS conferences serve as a platform for legislators, scholars, business and labor leaders to address various concerns pertinent to our state’s Hispanic community.

Emma Kreyche, Statewide Coordinator of the Green Light Campaign, spoke on a panel entitled “Equal Access to Driver’s Licenses for all New Yorkers,” explaining why it is essential for immigrant New Yorkers to obtain driver’s licenses. For many of the immigrant workers served by WJCNY, public transportation is inadequate, unreliable or simply non-existent. Individuals need to have access to drivers’ licenses so they can go about essential daily tasks - going to the grocery store, picking up children from school, going to a doctor’s appointment – safely and without fear of detention or deportation. This panel was live-streamed by Univision.  

Andrea Callan, Managing Director, spoke on a panel entitled “Protecting NYS’ Most Vulnerable Workers” and focused her comments on the pervasive practice of wage theft – when an employer fails to pay an employee the legally-mandated minimum wage, promised wage or overtime wages. Andrea brought the farmworker perspective to the panel, highlighting that this population of workers suffers a form of wage theft that is currently legally permissible under current state and federal law  - farmworkers are legally exempt from earning overtime wages. To remedy this exemption from the state law, WJCNY supports the Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act, a state bill that would permit farmworkers the same rights to overtime, collective bargaining, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation and a day of rest that almost all other workers in NY already enjoy.

WJCNY has long advocated for the restoration of driver's license access to undocumented New Yorkers. This year, it could finally become a reality. Together with our partner organizations in the Green Light NY: Driving Together Coalition, we are pushing harder than ever for passage of legislation that would provide immigrant New Yorkers the opportunity to become licensed drivers with the ability to register and insure their vehicles, regardless of immigration status.

Lack of access to driver's licenses disproportionately affects farmworkers and other immigrant workers living in rural and suburban communities without reliable public transportation. Farmworkers often depend on rides from their employers to access basic good and services, such as grocery shopping and medical appointments, or must pay an exorbitant proportion of their hard-earned wages toward car services. Many are left with little choice but to drive without a license and run the risk of being detained or deported over a routine traffic stop, like dairy farmworker leader Carlos Cardona, whose case is still pending in immigration court.

Now is the time for New York State's legislature to pass legislation expanding driver's license eligibility. Please join us in Albany next Tuesday, March 12, as we call on lawmakers to ACT NOW on driver's licenses. The Green Light campaign will be sending buses from across the state. Sign up here for a seat on the bus nearest you! For more information about the Green Light campaign, visit www.greenlightnewyork.org. 

Worker Justice Center of New York has been appointed Class Counsel, along with David Tykulsker, Esq., for Plaintiffs in the class action case Jose Barragan Contreras et al v. Rosann Landscape et al.  If you worked for Rosann Landscape Corp., Rosann Land Improvement Ltd., A.F.A. Management and/or Ana Maria Birlesuci at any time from August 24, 2011 to present, please click here for an important notice regarding your rights and how you may participate in the case. 

El Centro de Justicia para Trabajadores de Nueva York fue nombrado los Abogado de la Clase, junto con David Tykulsker, Esq., para los Representantes de Clase Demenadantes, José Barragan Contreras et al. v. Rosann Landscape et al. Si trabajó en cualquier momento desde el 24 de agosto de 2011 hasta la fecha presente, con Rosann Landscape Corp., Rosann Land Improvement Ltd., A.F.A. Management y/o Ana Maria Birlesuci en,  haga click aqui para obtener un aviso importante sobre sus derechos y cómo puede participar en el caso.

Staff and supporters of WJCNY were in court yesterday in Albany as we continue our fight in challenging the Jim Crow-era state law, the State Employment Relations Act, that denies farmworkers the right to organize in their workplaces without the fear of retaliation. WJCNY is a co-plaintiff in the case, along with farmworker, Crispin Hernandez and sister organization, the Workers’ Center of Central New York (WCCNY). The plaintiffs are represented by the New York Civil Liberties Union.

The basis of the lawsuit, now before the appellate court in Albany, stems from the firing of Crispin Hernandez by his former employer, Mark’s Farm, after Crispin  was observed by his employer discussing poor workplace conditions with co-workers and an organizer from the WCCNY. “Without farmworkers and our labor, New Yorkers wouldn’t have fruits or vegetables to put on their dinner table,” said Mr. Hernandez. “We deserve to be treated like human beings, without fear of retaliation.” 

Coinciding with yesterday's court appearance, Mr. Hernandez penned an op-ed published in the New York Daily News discussing the struggles of farmworkers who lack the essential right to organize their workplaces and why it is important to end the shameful exclusion of farmworkers from this essential right. 

When the State Employment Relations Act was passed in 1937 to incorporate the federal New Deal Era-protections for workers into New York law, lawmakers carried over a carve-out excluding farmworkers and domestic workers from worker protections. The federal protections had excluded farmworkers, the majority of whom were black at the time, as a compromise to get the votes of segregationist members of Congress. This exclusion now applies to farmworkers in New York today, who are, for the most part, immigrant workers.

When the plaintiffs initially filed suit in May of 2016, both Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state Attorney General publicly agreed that excluding farmworkers from the right to organize conflicts with the state constitution. Both declined to defend the lawsuit in court. However, the New York Farm Bureau requested that the court allow it to intervene to defend the law as a party in the case. The New York State Attorney General’s office filed a brief in support of the position that the exclusion is unconstitutional. 

“There is simply no justification for depriving farmworkers of the basic right to organize,” said Carly Fox, an advocate with the Worker Justice Center of New York. “For many decades, each time farmworkers and their allies have advocated for much-needed changes to laws governing their labor rights, the Farm Bureau has used its power and influence to lobby New York lawmakers to preserve the status quo and leave farmworkers in a position of vulnerability. Justice is clearly on the side of the farmworkers, and we will keep fighting until we win full equal rights.” 

A decision by the appellate court is expected in the coming months.

For more coverage of our day in court, see:

"Suit to allow farmworker organizing heard in Albany appeals court." Watertown Daily Times, Feb. 12, 2019

"Arguments heard in farm worker rights suit." Times Union, Feb. 11, 2019 

Yesterday the New York State Assembly held a public hearing on the persistent problem of wage theft in New York State. Representatives from the Assembly's Labor and Judiciary committees heard testimony from workers and advocates in an effort to better understand how the state can address wage theft through legislation and improved enforcement measures. Emma Kreyche, Senior Organizing & Advocacy Coordinator at WJCNY, provided testimony outlining the barriers workers face in holding employers accountable for wage theft and other workplace abuses. Emma pointed to the need for New York State to adopt basic labor protections for farmworkers, including overtime pay and collective bargaining protections, as well as for legislation that would strengthen enforcement of existing labor law. In particular, the EMPIRE (Empowering People in Rights Enforcement) Act would allow aggrieved employees and trusted public interest organizations to file claims against employers who violate state labor law on behalf of the Labor Commissioner. The bill would both generate revenue for state enforcement efforts and provide an important remedy for workers forced into signing arbitration agreements that prohibit class and collective actions. Additionally, the SWEAT (Securing Wages Earned Against Theft) Bill would provide victims of wage theft with necessary tools to collect on judgments. Too often, abusive employers evade enforcement of the law by transferring private and corporate assets, stymieing efforts by workers to recover damages. SWEAT would allow workers to freeze the employer’s assets, ensuring that workers who are cheated out of their pay can actually get it back. WJCNY also supports the One Fair Wage campaign, which aims to establish an equal minimum wage for tipped workers. The adoption of these measures would serve as a powerful deterrent against wage theft and worker exploitation, ensuring robust enforcement through the combined efforts of impacted workers, public interest organizations, and the New York State Department of Labor.

In the past six months, WJCNY and our clients succeeded in recovering hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid wages, penalties for various labor standards violations, and attorneys’ fees for WJCNY’s legal representation. These cases span a vast geography—from the suburbs of New York City to rural areas of Western New York—and across an array of industries including construction, food preparation, large-scale crop farming and dairy businesses. WJCNY commenced litigation, on behalf our courageous clients, in federal and state courts, as well filing complaints with administrative agencies, to pursue relief for wage theft under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law, and illegal retaliation against workers in in violation of the National Labor Relations Act. The successful resolution of these cases not only provides monetary compensation to directly affected workers but also serves to deter future labor abuses by these employers, thereby benefiting hundreds of low-wage workers.

The widespread failure of employers to pay workers the wages they have earned harms New York families and the public. It deepens poverty, reduces state and local revenue, increases the use of public assistance and disadvantages local business owners who play by the rules. Despite the severity of the wage theft epidemic, governmental resources for the enforcement of labor standards are grossly insufficient and only a small fraction of unpaid wages are recovered by federal and state agencies combined. Moreover, the incidence of wage theft is greatest among recent immigrants who are often unlikely to engage with governmental offices, especially when linguistic and cultural barriers exist. Currently, no other non-profit legal service provider in New York maintains an anti-wage theft program across the entirety of upstate New York. WJCNY’s role in enforcing labor standards for low-wage workers is critical to securing dignified treatment of all New York workers and combating the negative consequences of labor violations for all communities.