N.Y. Judge Signs Day Labor Agreement

© 2007 The Associated Press

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The federal judge who ruled that the Village of Mamaroneck was discriminating against Hispanic day laborers has signed the agreement that ends the case.

Terms of the settlement _ barring police officers from forcing laborers to move and from questioning their immigration status _ were revealed two weeks ago, but they were tentative until Judge Colleen McMahon signed the papers on Monday.
The federal judge's approval could help make the agreement a model for other municipalities dealing with day laborers.

The Mamaroneck lawsuit was filed after the New York City suburb closed an official day labor hiring site because of the increasing numbers of workers gathering there. When workers took to the streets to find work, they complained that police were harassing them.

As part of the settlement, the village has agreed to support a new hiring site on private property _ donated by a church _ which opened this month.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4922565.html