Yasmene Hammoud, an intern at the GLP Attorneys Tacoma office, has been instrumental in pushing for the passage of Bill 5104, which was heard on the Senate floor two weeks ago and passed with a 40-9 vote. The bill now awaits action in the House.
Immigrants facing threats or exploitation by their employers often have few options for recourse. Yasmene explains this is because “employers have so much more power than workers; it’s the unfortunate truth.” She continues to explain, “When you add immigration status to the mix, the power dynamic and the leverage that the employer gains is incredibly disproportionate.”
Senate Bill 5104 seeks to provide workers with better tools to protect themselves from workplace threats related to their immigration status and to prevent employers from exploiting it. The bill would require the state’s Department of Labor and Industries to investigate complaints of coercion against employers and empower the agency to impose civil penalties when violations occur.
Yasmene emphasized, “It’s incredibly important to safeguard [immigrant] rights and well-being to really allow the labor law to do what it was designed to do, and that’s to protect workers across the board, regardless of their immigration status.”
Read the full article in the Washington State Standard.