Thread: Migrant Workers to Get Overtime for Storm Cleanup, Ending Su

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/08/us/08settle.html

September 8, 2006
Migrant Workers to Get Overtime for Storm Cleanup, Ending Suit
By LESLIE EATON
In what appears to be the first resolution of a legal case involving charges of mistreatment of migrant workers cleaning up after Hurricane Katrina, the Belfor USA Group has agreed to pay more than $200,000 in overtime to workers hired by its subcontractors along the Gulf Coast.

Belfor, one of the biggest disaster recovery companies in the country, settled a lawsuit brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center on behalf of 175 workers who lawyers said had worked as many as 80 hours a week on the cleanup of Tulane University and other projects. The settlement was announced yesterday, after it was approved by a federal judge in New Orleans.

The company also set up a toll-free number so workers could call to complain about mistreatment by subcontractors, and it agreed to increase monitoring of their practices.

“These new policies and practices, companywide, will make sure subs stay in line, which we expected them to do before,” said Steven F. Griffith Jr., a lawyer for Belfor.

Migrant workers, many of them Hispanic and some in the United States illegally, flocked to the Gulf after the storms to do cleanup work. Almost immediately, complaints surfaced that workers were not being paid what they had been promised, and in some cases were not paid at all. And multiple layers of subcontractors made it difficult to figure out who was responsible for the problems.

Belfor decided to make sure the workers got paid first, and to work the financial matters out with subcontractors later, Mr. Griffith said.

Jennifer J. Rosenbaum, a lawyer at the law center, in Montgomery, Ala., said the group hoped the settlement would set a precedent. “We applaud Belfor,” Ms. Rosenbaum said, “and encourage other contractors to do the right thing.”

Yep....lets hope the subcontractors get the message to "do the right thing" which is next time hire American Workers...and I hope ICE sees this story or a Congressman and orders an investigation of these "flockers" and ejects them back to their country of origin.

Isn't that sweet to see the Southern Poverty Law Center so helpful to illegal aliens?

Have we ever seen them do anything for any Southern American?

Nope.

I guess when it formed it actually meant Southern of our Border. Yep...that's it....they didn't actually mean to help people in the Southern part of the United States....they intended to help those coming in from South of the Border.

GRRRRRR!!!!!

Did any New Orleans folks get any of these jobs or work?

Guess not.