MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The U.S. Secretary of Labor is criticizing Alabama’s new immigration law and reminding workers in the state they have the right to be paid the federal minimum wage, regardless of their immigration status.
Secretary Hilda Solis also is encouraging anyone denied the federal minimum wage or overtime pay to contact the Department of Labor at 205-397-7114 or http://www.dol.gov.
“Our federal government – under both Republican and Democratic presidents – has long held that all people working in this country have the right to the federal minimum wage, regardless of immigration status,” Solis wrote in a post on the department’s blog. She said Alabama’s immigration law invalidates employment contracts for illegal immigrants who are guaranteed the federal minimum wage under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
In response, the sponsor of Alabama’s immigration law, Republican Rep. Micky Hammon, of Decatur, said, “The truth is that illegal immigration brings its own set of human rights abuses ranging from human trafficking to poverty level wages to the victimization that comes with living under the radar.”
Solis criticized Alabama’s law for making it a crime for an illegal immigrant to enter into a business transaction, such as signing an apartment lease or getting utility service. “Imprisoning those who seek shelter and basic sustenance runs counter to the universal rights of all free people. It’s beneath the dignity of this great nation,” she wrote.