California and Connecticut Approve Laws Benefiting Immigrant Workers

IMMIGRANTS & EMPLOYMENT

Immigrants' Employment Rights and Remedies

CALIFORNIA AND CONNECTICUT APPROVE LAWS BENEFITING IMMIGRANT WORKERS
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 15, No. 6, Oct. 8, 2001

In a victory for limited English-proficient (LEP) workers in California and Connecticut, two bills have recently been signed into law that should advance the employment rights of workers in these states as well as serve as model legislation for other states across the country.

On July 6, 2001, Governor John G. Rowland of Connecticut signed into law House Bill No. 6657, designed to provide information to LEP workers about their rights under Connecticut wage and hour and unemployment laws. "An Act Prohibiting Employment Exploitation of Immigrant Labor," enacted as Public Act No. 01-147, repeals Section 31-4 of the Connecticut General Statutes, which provided that the state labor commissioner could appoint special agents on a case-by-case basis to inform non-English-speaking workers, in those workers' own languages, of their rights. The new law strengthens that provision by specifically requiring the labor commissioner to produce and distribute printed materials describing the rights of immigrant and LEP workers in order to help such workers protect themselves from unfair exploitation by employers who, for example, might withhold wages owed the workers or commit other similar violations. Public Act No. 01-147 states that the labor commissioner's educational materials must be printed in Spanish, French, and any other language determined to be spoken by a primary group of immigrant workers in Connecticut. The funds for these materials will come from a civil penalty of $300 per violation levied against employers who violate this law. Connecticut's new law went into effect on Oct. 1, 2001.

The California bill, which Governor Gray Davis signed into law on Sept. 12, 2001, provides LEP workers with limited protection against "English-only" rules-i.e., rules that require workers to speak only English while on the job or in the workplace. Assembly Bill No. 800 amends Section 12951 of the California Government Code, relating to employment discrimination, by providing that it is an unlawful employment practice for employers to institute an English-only rule unless (1) it is justified by a business necessity and (2) the employer notifies its workers of when and under which circumstances the English-only rule applies and what the consequences for violating the rule are. "Business necessity" is defined as "an overriding legitimate business purpose" that is necessary for the safe and efficient operation of the business. Such a necessity exists only when there is no lesser discriminatory alternative to the English-only restriction that would accomplish the same business purpose. The new law also sets forth a statement of legislative intent that this new law incorporates the California Constitution's protections against discrimination based on national or ethnic origin, while also acknowledging that, under California's constitution, English is the state's official language.