Hispanics helped with job conflicts

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2003 | 9:39 a.m.

Nevada is getting the nation's third toll-free government number for Hispanic immigrant workers to call about discrimination, pay disputes and handle other workplace issues.

The Nevada phone line will be launched today by federal and state agencies, area nonprofits and the Mexican consulate.

The project, called Employment Education Outreach, or EMPLEO, is a joint effort of the U.S. Labor Department, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the state Labor Commission, the state Equal Rights Commission, the consulate and other private and public agencies.

David Minsky, chief of staff for the Labor Department's wage and hour division in Washington, said a similar project was launched in Houston two years ago, followed by another in Dallas. During that time, the Houston project has received 600 calls resulting in 2,000 workers receiving $1.3 million in back wages, Minsky said.

"We looked for places with a lot of low-wage workers not being represented ... and Las Vegas has a rather large increase in Mexican workers, and the consulate was interested in participating," he said.

Latest Census estimates put Southern Nevada's Hispanic population at 361,000, about 70 percent of whom are of Mexican descent.

"We have seen a change in demographics in Nevada, and as the immigrants being employed increase, calls about employment discrimination have increased," said Santos Albarran, program outreach director for the EEOC in San Francisco. Albarran said his office didn't have updated figures for the number of complaints from Nevada.

"We'll be providing information to recent immigrants who otherwise would not have it at their disposal," he said.

The toll-free number will be manned by four employees at the Mexican Consulate in Las Vegas.

"It's a perfect fit for us," consul Berenice Rendon said.

The Las Vegas effort will be the third nationwide and will be followed by others in Phoenix, Los Angeles and Atlanta during the next year and a half, Minsky said.

Nevada Labor Commissioner Terry Johnson, whose office will also be providing information to those who man the phones, said a "disproportionate number" -- up to half -- of the 488 wage-related cases currently before his office involve Hispanic workers, an unknown percentage of whom are undocumented immigrants.

"The reason this happens is because unscrupulous employers have no problem taking advantage of ... Hispanic workers, especially if they don't speak much English, because they think there's no way the workers will be able to navigate the system," Johnson said.

"This (project) will make it easier for people to get from point A to point B."

Johnson made a controversial ruling in February 2002 that said undocumented immigrant workers deserve to be paid prevailing wages on public works projects.

Rendon, of the Mexican consulate, said EMPLEO will guarantee that federal and state laws are followed for all workers.

"In the end, these people are working and contributing to society," she said. "They should know their rights and responsibilities."