DOL launches website for migrant workers

Washington — A new Department of Labor website – available in English and Spanish – features information on immigrant worker rights and other job-related resources.

MigrantWorker.gov – or TrabajadorMigrante.gov – went live Aug. 28. Topics covered by the website include workplace safety and health, recruitment, wages and hours, retaliation, discrimination and harassment, trafficking, support from a worker’s home country, and how to file a claim.

The website includes lists of FAQs – under six different categories – and their corresponding answers. Among the questions:

• What can I do if there are hazardous conditions in my workplace?
• Do agricultural workers have the right to bathroom breaks during work hours?
• Must my employer provide water?
• Do I have to pay for personal protective equipment for my job?

In addition, the site has videos focused on specific workplace situations and how workers can get help.

“Often, immigrant and underserved workers face unique challenges at the worksite, such as language, educational, cultural barriers and newness to the United States that can make it difficult for them to understand and learn their rights as workers,” OSHA administrator Doug Parker said in a press release. “We are collaborating with worker advocates, labor unions, worker centers and others who are leading the fight to protect the rights of every worker in this country to ensure dignity of their daily labor.”