With legal assistance from the Equal Justice Center, 15 immigrant construction workers recovered more than $50,000.00 in unpaid wages owed to them for their labor building a Value Place Hotel in north Austin. The workers performed carpentry, drywall, and painting work to construct the hotel, but were frequently not compensated at all for their work for weeks at a time. On some occasions they were paid with hot checks that the contractor knew to be worthless. The Equal Justice Center empowered these workers to take legal action through which they forced the property owner and general contractor and subcontractor to pay for the workers’ labor.

The Equal Justice Center recently passed a new milestone: low- and moderate-income workers supported by the EJC have now recovered a total of more than $2 million dollars in unpaid wages that were improperly withheld from them. In the closing months of 2009 our clients have achieved a surge of success, recovering over $90,000 in November and December alone. Even more remarkable, these workers – including U.S. citizens, permanent resident immigrants, guest workers, and undocumented immigrants – are effectively enforcing their wage rights regardless of their immigration status. We salute the hard work, courage, and dignity of these working men and women who are contributing so much to our communities and who are helping to ensure that all working people receive a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.