03.28.23

Reps. Chu, Scott Re-Introduce POWER Act to Create Safe, Just Workplaces for Every Worker in America

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Reps. Judy Chu (CA-28) and Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, re-introduced the Protecting Our Workers from Exploitation and Retaliation (POWER) Act. This updated bill is a vital step towards creating safe and just workplaces for all American workers by providing temporary protection from deportation for immigrant workers who experience retaliation for exercising their rights under existing labor and employment laws.

“Beyond being essential members of the American community, immigrants are also an essential component of the labor force here, enabling the U.S. to be prosperous and competitive globally,” said Rep. Chu. “However, some unscrupulous employers seek to exploit immigrant workers, making them work extreme hours in difficult and dangerous conditions and silencing them with the threat of deportation or changes to work visas if they speak up.”

Fortunately, earlier this year, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that noncitizen workers who are victims of violation of labor rights can now access a streamlined and expedited deferred action process or temporary relief from deportation as they cooperate with labor standards investigations. However, this process provides only temporary protection, with no path to permanent status, and can be rescinded via future executive order. The POWER Act would deliver definitive, permanent protection and ensure that our labor laws are consistently enforced.

“Before DHS’s announcement, employers knew immigrant workers may be too afraid to report labor abuses to the appropriate authorities or provide relevant evidence or testimony to labor agencies on ongoing investigations,” continued Rep. Chu. “The POWER Act would build on and codify DHS’s new policy so that we can permanently put an end to threats to immigrant workers and improve workplace conditions for all Americans.”

“Employers should not be able to use the threat of deportation to retaliate against, intimidate, or punish an employee for exercising their rights,” said Rep. Scott. “The POWER Act will strengthen protections for all workers and help ensure that unscrupulous employers are brought to justice for labor violations. This bill also represents an important step forward in making sure that workers can fully realize their rights on the job and do not have to live in fear while trying to make a living.”

The legislation is also supported by organizations, including: The National Immigration Law Center (NILC); Jobs with Justice; Economic Policy Institute; National Employment Law Project (NELP); Tulane Immigrant Rights Clinic; AFL-CIO; and SEIU.

“Today, as part of our ongoing POWER Campaign—initiated a decade ago—Jobs With Justice is proud to endorse the reintroduction of the POWER Act,” said Erica Smiley, Executive Director of Jobs With Justice. 

“Passing the POWER Act would go a long way toward building immigrant workers’ power to improve workplace conditions across the U.S.,” said Rebecca Dixon, President and CEO of the National Employment Law Project. “By expanding protections against retaliation and deportation for immigrant workers who report workplace abuses, more workers can collectively assert their rights and hold exploitative employers accountable.”

“All workers, regardless of their immigration status, deserve safe working conditions and the ability to speak up when their civil or labor rights are violated,” said Kica Matos, executive vice president of programs and strategy at the National Immigration Law Center. “We call on Congress to pass the POWER Act and help promote fair and safe workplaces for all workers.”

“The POWER Act is arguably the single most important piece of legislation aimed at protecting workers who lack an immigration status or who only have a precarious, temporary status, from employer intimidation and the threat of retaliation and deportation,” said Daniel Costa, the Director of Immigration Law and Policy Research at the Economic Policy Institute. “Without it, U.S. laws that protect labor standards only exist on paper for many migrant workers, but the POWER Act’s protections help ensure that those rights can be defended and exercised in workplaces across the country, and that lawbreaking employers will be held accountable as a result.”

“When every worker is empowered to exercise their voice and join a union without fear, we are all stronger.  But immigrant workers are too often exploited by unscrupulous corporations and bosses who threaten them with deportation if they speak out against harassment on the job or try to organize,” said Mary Kay Henry, President of Service Employees International Union (SEIU). “The POWER Act would back these workers and hold their employers accountable.” 

“Across the country, working people are rising up and fighting back against wage theft, discrimination, sexual harassment, union busting, and other egregious violations.  Our system relies on workers to take action to keep workplaces safe and fair, and no one should ever have to risk deportation for speaking up about abuses on the job,” said Shannon Lederer, Director of Immigration Policy, AFL-CIO. “The POWER Act prevents immigration enforcement from being used as a tool to crush worker organizing and protects the brave folks who take a stand to help enforce the labor laws our movement fought so hard to win.

The POWER Act:

  • Expands U-Visa Eligibility for Workers Suffering Serious Labor Violations. The POWER Act expands eligibility for U-visa relief for workers suffering serious labor violations who cooperate with local, state, or federal worker protection agencies and who have suffered substantial abuse or harm related to the workplace claim or would face extreme hardship upon removal. 
  • Provides Temporary Protection for Victims of Crime and Labor Retaliation. The bill allows federal, state, or local law enforcement officials, labor officials, and worker protection agencies to ask the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide temporary lawful status with employment authorization to workers who have filed a workplace claim or are material witnesses in any pending or anticipated workplace claim.
  • Strengthens Labor Agencies’ Investigative Powers. The bill mandates that when DHS conducts a worksite enforcement action, and (1) there is a labor dispute in progress or (2) the agency received information as a means to retaliate against workers for enforcing their labor rights, DHS must ensure that workers arrested or detained are not deported before the appropriate labor agency is notified and has a chance to interview the workers.
  • Holds Employers Responsible for Labor Law Violations. The bill provides grounds for a stay of removal in immigration proceedings for three years with employment authorization if workers are pursuing a workplace claim in a local, state, or federal worker protection agency or court. To be eligible for the stay, the workers must agree to work with the government to pursue labor claims against their employer.
  • Removes the Caps on U visas. There is a backlog of almost 240,000 U-visa applicants because only 10,000 visas are available annually. This bill would remove this limitation and expands the time frame for stays of removal while the U-visa petition is pending. It also waives the expensive fees for U-visa applicants.

 

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