Labor Rights Week reminds us the law protects all workers

During Labor Rights Week 2024, Aug. 26-Aug. 31, the U.S. Department of Labor joins with many foreign embassies, including the Mexican Embassy and its 52 consulates, community and faith-based groups, and federal and state officials to promote the protection of rights to which every person who works in the U.S. is entitled.

Safe and healthy workplaces, payment of all legal wages and the speaking out to question working conditions or wage practices are rights guaranteed by U.S. law, regardless of immigration status. The law says: If you work in the U.S. you have these rights and the Department of Labor has the responsibility to hold employers who violate them accountable.

Labor Rights Week reminds us all of the importance of empowered workers, strong labor protections and how a culture of respect and fairness in the workplace makes business sense.

Although we recognize that many employers comply with the law and treat their employees fairly, too often, our investigators find people who accept dangerous work or accept unfair wages because they don’t realize the law protects them.

Sadly, they put their safety at risk and fall victim to wage theft or other abuses for fear that complaining could cost them their job or lead them to be deported.

In 2022, 1,248 Latino workers suffered fatal workplace injuries — a rate nearly 22% higher than other workers. Nearly 64% of them were foreign-born.

In the construction industry, nearly 40% of Latino workers who died on the job were born outside the U.S. Every worker — regardless of where their life began — deserves to end their workday safely.

In 2024, the department took important steps to protect all workers that included a farmworker protection rule that protects temporary migrant H-2A workers from labor exploitation, addresses human trafficking and adds safety requirements, and a proposed a rule to require employers to protect workers from excessive indoor and outdoor heat exposure.

To help workers better understand their rights, the department expanded Migrantworker.gov in 2024 to provide workers with information in six more languages and TrabajadorMigrante.gov added Spanish-language videos on common challenges migrants face, including safe transport to job sites, illegal recruitment fees and the right of nursing employees to have the appropriate space and time to express breast milk.

During Labor Rights Week and throughout the year our mission remains clear. We must fight to protect every worker’s safety, to ensure they receive all the wages and benefits and to make certain workers never fear retaliation for speaking their minds about workplace concerns.

Join us this Labor Rights Week as we promote dignity, equity and justice for all workers.

Marietta Taylor is the Wage and Hour Division District Director in Des Moines, Iowa. Her office covers Iowa and Nebraska.