As the first American woman of Asian descent to be in a President's
Cabinet, Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao has always stated her commitment and
strong ties to this community. Since arriving in America at the age of eight
without speaking a word of English, Secretary Chao has always believed in the
promise of this country and its abundant opportunities.
Under the leadership of Secretary Chao, the United States Department of
Labor (DOL) has made significant contributions to the advancement of the Asian
Pacific American (APA) community through its human capital program, enforcement
priorities, compliance assistance efforts and partnership activities.
Compliance Priorities in the APA Communities
The United States Department of Labor's has established a compliance
priority in low-wage industries with chronic violations, where large numbers of
immigrant workers, including Asian Pacific Americans, are employed. These
workers are more willing to accept low-wages and less likely to complain to the
government when their rights have been violated. To meet this challenge, the
Department employed directed enforcement, aggressive compliance assistance to
both workers and employers, and strategic partnerships to ensure compliance
problems in these industries do not go unabated.
Enforcement
Last year, the United States Department of Labor direct enforcement
efforts in low-wage industries, such as garment manufacturing, health care,
janitorial services, restaurants and the hotel industries, yielded $39,595,382
in back wages for workers. Over 80,000 workers in these industries received
back wages.
- In February 2003, the Department reached a settlement in lawsuits
filed against eleven Chicago area Chinese-style buffet restaurants. The
settlement included payment of over $665,000 to more than 100 workers employed
as busboys and kitchen help. The workers, mostly Asian and Hispanic, worked as
many as 66 hours a week and were not paid overtime. In some instances,
employees were paid less than minimum wage.
- As a result of a series of legal actions, the Department enabled the
distribution of more than $1.2 million in unpaid wages to nearly 250 garment
workers employed in Northern California.
- In February 2003 as a result of a Department of Labor investigation,
Kilsoo Lee, owner of Daewoosa Samoa, Ltd., a garment factory in American Samoa,
was found guilty of 14 criminal counts including involuntary servitude, forced
labor, conspiracy to violate rights, extortion and money laundering. This
successful criminal conviction proved that Lee and his managers conspired to
use threats of arrest and deportation, food deprivation and beatings to force
more than 200 Vietnamese and Chinese immigrant workers to operate the
factory.
- In December 2003, the Department announced an agreement with a
manufacturer of baseball caps for Major League Baseball to pay $124,509 in back
wages to 597 workers, most of whom where of Laotian, Vietnamese or Cambodian
descent.
Record-Breaking Enforcement of Executive Order 11246
Executive Order 11246 tasks the Labor Department only with enforcing
nondiscrimination in employment by government contractors and subcontractors.
At the Department, enforcement is handled by the Office for Federal Contract
Compliance Programs (OFCCP). In fiscal year 2003, the OFCCP conducted the most
Glass Ceiling Reviews in the history of the Glass Ceiling Audit Program. During
these audits, OFCCP assessed whether the corporations erected a "glass ceiling"
against all minorities, including Asian Pacific Americans.
- In FY 2003, OFCCP completed 7,709 compliance evaluations covering
over 2.5 million workers-more reviews and more covered workers than any year
since 1991.
- OFCCP completed 52 Corporate Management Reviews during FY 2003, a
record number. Corporate Management Reviews ensure that all workers, including
Asian Pacific Americans, have an equal opportunity to rise to management and
executive positions.
- OFCCP focused on systemic discrimination cases in FY 2003, obtaining
settlements which provided $26,220,356 in financial remedies to 14,361
minority, including Asian Pacific Americans, and female workers.
- In FY 2003, OFCCP referred 12 systemic discrimination cases to the
Office of the Solicitor for enforcement litigation, involving $27.3 million in
estimated liability and over 1,500 workers. The Solicitor's Office filed
enforcement litigation in 5 OFCCP cases this year, with estimated liability of
more than $6.2 million and involving more than 2,400 workers
Compliance Assistance
As more and more immigrants work and establish businesses in the United
States, the United States Department of Labor has increased its compliance
assistance to Asian business and community organizations. More materials and a
greater number of compliance assistance tools are being translated by the
Department into non-English languages. Last year, the Department translated
nine of its key compliance assistance fact sheets into Korean including fact
sheets that provide compliance information in the key low-wage industries.
Additional materials in Chinese and Vietnamese have been developed and will be
published shortly. These materials are helping to protect the physical and
financial security of Asian Pacific Americans.
Strategic Partnerships
United States Department of Labor partnership and collaborative
activities are used to leverage resources and broaden the impact of other
strategies. Ongoing relationships and outreach with Department partners inform
low-wage and immigrant workers of their rights and the remedies available to
them. The Department has developed several successful partnership programs in
the APA community.
The Information Group for Asian American Rights (TIGAAR)
The Information Group for Asian American Rights (TIGAAR) is a
collaborative partnership in Houston, Texas, comprised of the United States
Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the City
of Houston Council, the Organization of Chinese Americans, VN Teamwork,
Alliance for Multicultural Community Services, and the Japanese American
Citizens League. TIGAAR's main objectives are:
- To form a unique collaboration between government agencies and Asian
American community organizations;
- To educate the Asian American community about their rights under the
laws enforced by the DOL and EEOC;
- To educate Asian American Organizations and Advocacy Groups;
- To educate Asian American community opinion leaders; and
- To encourage Asian Americans to come forward with information that
will solve their problems in the workplace.
Through March 2004, the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has
used the enforcement component of the TIGAAR initiative to collect over
$187,000 for 248 employees. The TIGAAR compliance assistance program includes a
23-minute video describing common wage and hour violations, workplace safety
violations, and examples of employment discrimination. Another tool was twenty
6' x 12' billboards announcing the TIGAAR Web site, www.tigaar.org where
additional information regarding employment rights can be obtained.
To better reach low-wage workers, the United States Department of Labor
developed working relationships with local media outlets:
- Saigon Houston Radio 900AM, the most popular Vietnamese-language
radio show in Houston, for call-in programs to answer questions from the public
in their own language;
- Southern Chinese Daily News;
- Houston Chinese Yellow Pages;
- Houston Southern Chinese Radio Network;
- Texas Asian Television and USAsia Today; and
- VVOS (Vietnamese Voices Overseas) which broadcasts on Houston Time
Warner Cable Network #17, "Live Talk Shows" on Vietnamese radios in Houston,
and via an internet site at http://vvos.net to establish contacts to share
information with the community.
Operation COACH (Compliance Outreach to the Asian Community and
Hispanics)
The United States Department of Labor's office in northern New Jersey
launched the Operation COACH (Compliance Outreach to the Asian Community and
Hispanics) program. The COACH program broadens its significant compliance
assistance program by going into the Asian and Hispanic communities and working
directly with those employers and workers who traditionally have been reluctant
to seek the Department's services. The main objectives of the COACH program are
to:
- Provide direct outreach to the Hispanic and Asian communities;
- Expand partnerships with community centers; and,
- Effectively use the media to promote the program.
Direct Outreach involves the Department's bilingual and Asian
staff visiting employers, and reaching out to business and professional
organizations, community centers, and faith-based worker advocates. This effort
is to provide face-to-face outreach that takes place in a non-adversarial
atmosphere.
Thus far, outreach has taken place in Hudson County with visits to
businesses in Jersey City, North Bergen, Union City, Guttenberg, and West New
York. Most of the employers visited identified their ethnicity as East Indian,
Pakistani, Korean, Filipino, Arab or Hispanic. The effort resulted in direct
contact with over 400 businesses employing more than 2,300 workers in Hudson
County alone. Of these 49% were Hispanic-owned, 31% Asian-owned and 20% some
other ethnicity. Sixty-five percent of the contacted employers told Department
of Labor staff that they had no prior knowledge of the Department or any
experience with the Department. This effort is ongoing and will continue with
visits to Bergen and Passaic Counties where the targeted population will be
Korean and Chinese.
Partnerships include outreach to professional associations and
community and faith-based organizations so as to better reach low-wage APA
workers. One result has been an event with the Jersey City Asian Merchants
Association.
Currently, the Department is working with OSHA and State partners in an
effort to sign formal partnerships with community centers (North Hudson
Community Action Corp., Bergen County Community Action Program). Through these
organizations, which provide health and child care services, job training and
placement, family counseling, governmental referrals and other services, the
Department finds new channels to help spread the COACH message to the immigrant
employee population.
To date, one formal partnership agreement has been signed with
the Community Action for Social Affairs (CASA) in Paterson. The Department will
be conducting worker seminars and installing permanent exhibits highlighting
the COACH program. Compliance materials and information about the Department's
Web-based programs and services will be made available for workers and others
visiting these centers. The Department is also collaborating with Winds of the
Spirit and The Paterson Archdiocese Migrant Ministries two faith-based
organizations who serve as worker advocates in local indigent APA communities.
Korean American Manufacturers Association (KAMA)
In July 2003, the United States Department of Labor and the Korean
American Manufacturers Association (KAMA) in southern California launched an
incentive-based partnership program. Pursuant to a signed Compliance Assistance
Program Agreement, KAMA will closely monitor their garment subcontractors to
ensure compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act. Initially, a group of ten
manufacturers began monitoring programs to review their subcontractors' pay
practices. The Department has agreed to provide training covering all aspects
of monitoring and assured manufacturers that, when certain conditions are met,
the Department will not block movement and sale of goods when small, quickly
corrected violations occur at one of their subcontractors.
Economic Development Initiatives for the Asian Pacific American
Community
National Emergency Grants:
- $1 million to Chinatown, New York to assist dislocated workers in the
aftermath of the September 11th attacks.
- $200,000 to Chinatown Manpower Project, New York for dislocated
worker training.
- $584,700 to Georgia to assist workers who had been laid off from
manufacturing closures. Many recipients are Thai Americans and Korean Americans
with limited English abilities.
Project Funding and Assistance:
- Recognizing that economic freedom and entrepreneurship are a
foundation for individual success and prosperity, Secretary Chao allocated $9
million over five years to initiate the Growing America Through
Entrepreneurship Project (Project GATE), a joint venture between the United
States Department of Labor and the Small Business Administration. Project GATE
places emphasis on working thorough community-based organizations and one-stop
centers to reach historically underserved ethnic populations and help diverse
urban and rural populations create, support and expand small businesses.
- To meet the needs of all workers, the United States Department of
Labor awarded a $6.1 million grant to the National Asian Pacific Center on
Aging in Seattle, Washington where the Senior Community Service Program
provides training for low-income workers age 55 and older. The grant will help
subsidize part-time employment in community service positions that will prepare
older workers for placement in unsubsidized jobs.
- More than 1000 Asian Pacific American women attended workshops on
financial security and retirement savings sponsored by the Department.
- The Department designed a program called GEM-SET III to encourage and
target Asian and Hispanic immigrant girls, ages 13-18, in Chicago, New York
City, Houston, Miami, and Los Angeles in exploring careers in Science,
Engineering, and Technology.
Association Health Plans (AHP): President Bush has called for
enactment of Association Health Plan (AHP) legislation. Under the United States
Department of Labor's oversight, AHPs would allow small businesses to band
together across state lines and purchase affordable coverage for their
employees. With an estimated 2 million Asian Pacific Americans lacking health
insurance, the legislation will benefit Asian Pacific Americans in the
workforce.
Worker Safety and Protection
Compliance Assistance: To provide employers, workers, job
seekers, and retirees with clear and easy-to-access information on how to
comply with federal employment laws, the United States Department of Labor has
developed a toll-free participant and compliance assistance phone number in
over 150 languages, including multiple Asian languages.
Pension Security: The United States Department of Labor provides
compliance guides to help employers and employees understand federal benefits
law and their rights and obligations under each pension plan.
Ensuring Worker Safety: To make non-English speaking workers
aware of government services and labor rules, the United States Department of
Labor has worker safety awareness materials available in Chinese and
Vietnamese. To ensure the safety of youth workers, the Department also
distributes Chinese language manuals to teen workers.
Creating Opportunities for the Growing Asian Pacific American
Community
Appointments: Secretary Chao has appointed more Asian Pacific
Americans to serve in top leadership positions at the United States Department
of Labor than any other federal department leader.
Cultivating young leaders: To foster a new generation of leaders
and promote diversity in the workforce, Secretary Chao established an
internship program at the United States Department of Labor that has benefited
over 50 Asian Pacific Americans. On July 27, 2004, Secretary Chao hosted a
reception with Asian Pacific American interns in the Washington D.C. area to
highlight careers in leadership and public service.
Career advancement: To help Asian Pacific Americans access career
and leadership opportunities in the federal government, Secretary Chao
initiated the annual Asian Pacific American Federal Career Advancement Summit
in May 2001. Drawing over 850 federal employees in 2004, this unprecedented
training program aims to equip government employees with the skill sets to
become leaders in the American workforce. Secretary Chao also launched an
innovative Mentoring Program to foster professional development for all
Department of Labor employees.
Strengthening the community: Addressing the unique needs of the
Asian Pacific and Hispanic American communities, the United States Departments
of Labor and Housing and Urban Development partnered with federal agencies and
non-profit organizations to host the first-ever Opportunities Conference on
September 24-25, 2003. Workshops provided participants with information about
small business development, accessing capital, doing business with the
government, opportunities for faith-based and community organizations, and
assistance to workers with limited English proficiency. The conference drew
over 1,200 attendees from around the country, emphasizing key components of
economic development including minority homeownership, education, advancement
of small businesses, job creation and training, the event was designed to help
small businesses, non-profit organizations, and community organizations play a
leadership role in the American economy. The next conference will be held
on Tuesday, October 12, 2004 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington,
DC.
Other Accomplishments
Unemployment Data: To better serve the Asian Pacific American
communities, the United States Department of Labor's monthly unemployment
report includes, for the first time, specific data on Asian Americans.
Community Outreach: The United States Department of Labor has
developed an alliance with the Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC)
to broaden its outreach to the Asian Pacific American (APA) community and
enable more Asian Pacific Americans to access training materials and develop
skills critical to their advancement.
Translations: Under Secretary Chao's leadership, the United
States Department of Labor's "Handy Reference Guide to the Fair Labor Standards
Act" has been translated into Korean and Department of Labor financial literacy
workshops include translated Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation material,
such as "Money Smart" in Chinese and Korean. The Department also issues
translated White House briefings for Korean American businesses.
Learning the History: The Department of Labor's Mine Safety and
Health Administration (MSHA) Web site features an interactive piece entitled "A
Pictoral Walk Through the 20th Century The Asian American in Mining."
The dedication is concentrated on the contributions of Chinese miners in the
gold fields of the American West and MSHA has plans to feature other Asian
American groups in the future.
Career Training for older Asian Pacific Americans: The United
States Department of Labor sponsored a project in cooperation with CVS/pharmacy
to assist older Asian Pacific American women obtain jobs with CVS/pharmacy by
providing training in basic life and computer skills.
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