Labor & Employment Law Forum Volume 1 | Issue 3 Article 1 7-1-2011 Volume 1, Book 3 Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/lelb Part of the Labor and Employment Law Commons Recommended Citation 1 Am. U. Lab. & Emp. L. F. 259-369 (2011). This Entire Issue is brought to you for free and open access by the Washington College of Law Journals & Law Reviews at Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Labor & Employment Law Forum by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. American University Labor Employment& Law FORUM A VIEW FROM THE FRONT LINES: ANDREAS N. AKARAS WHY PROTECTING IMMIGRANT WORKERS IS SEBASTIAN G. AMAR ESSENTIAL FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM AND VITAL TO THE MAINTENANCE OF A HEALTHY AMERICAN WORKFORCE THE AGRICULTURAL WORKER PROTECTION ACT & FEDLINE FERJUSTE FLORIDA’S MIGRANT WORKER: THE HANDS THAT FEED FLORIDA PANELS E-VERIFY: PETER ASAAD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE V. WHITING REP. BRUCE A. MORRISON MARC ROSENBLUM EMILY TULLI JON FEERE STEPHEN VLADECK IMMIGRANT WORKERS’ RIGHTS: ELIZABETH KEYES BEYOND THE SCOPE OF TRADITIONAL DANIEL CHOI LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW SEBASTIAN AMAR JOSEPH GEEVARGHESE NOTE STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: ALEXANDER M. BARD THE QUESTION OF DECERTIFICATION OF SPORTS UNIONS IN 2011 AND THE BENEFIT OF ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT VOLUME 1, NUMBER 3, SUMMER 2011 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW FORUM VOLUME 1 SUMMER 2011 NUMBER 3 The AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW FORUM (“FORUM“) is edited and published on a quarterly basis by its staff at the American University Washington College of Law. 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ISSN 2159-0400 FACULTY ADVISORS Nancy Abramowitz, Professor of Practice of Law & Director of the Federal Tax Clinic Peter Asaad, Adjunct Professor of Law Michael Artz, Adjunct Professor of Law Susan D. Carle, Professor of Law Harold J. Datz, Adjunct Professor of Law Allen Feldman, Adjunct Professor of Law Llezlie Green Coleman, Practitioner in Residence Owen Herrnstadt, Adjunct Professor of Law Elizabeth Keyes, Practitioner in Residence Daniela Kraiem, Associate Director of the Women & the Law Program Susan J. Lewis, Law Librarian Jeffrey S. Lubbers, Professor of Practice in Administrative Law Fernanda Nicola, Associate Professor of Law Andrew Popper, Professor of Law Jayesh Rathod, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Immigrant Justice Clinic Avis Sanders, Director of the Externship Program Diane Seltzer, Adjunct Professor of Law Richard Ugelow, Practitioner in Residence Anthony E. Varona, Associate Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs Robert G. Vaughn, Professor of Law and A. Allen King Scholar Cathy Ventrell-Monsees, Adjunct Professor of Law FRIENDS OF THE PUBLICATION Claudio M. Grossman, Dean Billie Jo Kaufman, Associate Dean of Library and Information Resources Korin Munsterman, Director of the Offi ce of Technology Adeen Postar, Deputy Director, Pence Law Library Bryan Rapp, Assistant Director of the Offi ce of Technology Mary Rich, Special Projects Coordinator, Pence Law Library Stephen I. Vladeck, Professor of Law Stephen Wermiel, Fellow in Law and Government The Student Bar Association AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW FORUM VOLUME 1 SUMMER 2011 NUMBER 3 Editor-in-Chief JENNIFER ERIN BROWN Executive Editor Managing Editor JAMISON F. GRELLA CLIFFORD CLAPP Senior Articles Editor Content Editors MATTHEW GÓMEZ KYLE DECANT ERNEST JOHNSON PEDRO DE LENCASTRE CATILIN O’LEARY EMILY O’NEILL JOSÉ MARERRO Symposium Editor SUSANNA BIRDSONG Senior Staff Junior Staff ALEXANDER BARD STEFFI JOHANSEN MELANIE BENNETT LAUREN KHOURI SUN BETHUY ALEXANDRE MEYNIEL SAMUEL BOCCARA CATHERINE MOORE AMANDA JANE COONEY ELIZABETH MORAN AMBER CORNISH ELLIS PALIVIDAS RAUL GARCIA RAQUEL SMITH BEN IWASAKI GEORGE LYNCH LAURIE MONAHAN FERNANDO ORTEGA SCOTT PIERCE ISHA PLYNTON LISA SANDOVAL SEAN SHANK ANN WARSHAW * * * AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW FORUM VOLUME 1 SUMMER 2011 NUMBER 3 ARTICLES: A VIEW FROM THE FRONT LINES: ........................................................ 259 WHY PROTECTING IMMIGRANT WORKERS IS ESSENTIAL FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM AND VITAL TO THE MAINTENANCE OF A HEALTHY AMERICAN WORKFORCE Andreas N. Akaras & Sebastian G. Amar THE AGRICULTURAL WORKER PROTECTION ACT & ........................... 279 FLORIDA’S MIGRANT WORKER: THE HANDS THAT FEED FLORIDA Fedline Ferjuste PANELS: E-VERIFY: ............................................................................................... 301 CHAMBER OF COMMERCE V. WHITING Peter Asaad, Moderator IMMIGRANT WORKERS’ RIGHTS: .......................................................... 329 BEYOND THE SCOPE OF TRADITIONAL LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW Elizabeth Keyes, Moderator NOTE: STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: ....................................................................... 347 THE QUESTION OF DECERTIFICATION OF SPORTS UNIONS IN 2011 AND THE BENEFIT OF ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT Alexander M. Bard * * * A VIEW FROM THE FRONT LINES: WHY PROTECTING IMMIGRANT WORKERS IS ESSENTIAL FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM AND VITAL TO THE MAINTENANCE OF A HEALTHY AMERICAN WORKFORCE ANDREAS N. AKARAS, ESQ.*1 SEBASTIAN G. AMAR, ESQ.* *2 I. Introduction .........................................................................................260 II. The Economic Aspects of Immigration Reform ..................................261 III. The Fair Labor Standards Act .............................................................266 A. The FLSA and Undocumented Immigrants .............................266 B. The Role of Legal Service Organizations. ...............................272 IV. Case Study: State of Maryland Wage and Hour Laws ........................273 V. Current Prospects for Immigration Reform .........................................276 * Andreas N. Akaras is a Washington, DC-based attorney who is principal in the Akaras Law Offi ces, and is of Counsel to Snider & Associates, LLC. He represents aggrieved employees in wage and hour litigation throughout the United States. ** Sebastian Amar is a civil rights attorney and former staff attorney at CASA de Maryland, Inc., where his practice focused on the representation of low-wage immigrant workers in civil rights and employment law cases. 259 260 THE LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW FORUM [Vol. 1:3 I. INTRODUCTION In 2009, a group of researchers from University of California, Los Angeles released the fi ndings of a study of low-wage workers in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, aimed at assessing the prevalence of workplace violations in the nation’s three largest cities.1 The result was eye-opening for lawmakers: federal and state employment laws are not providing adequate protections to the most critical, and indeed the most vulnerable, members of the United States (“U.S.”) workforce—immigrant workers. Among the report’s fi ndings, the fact that two-thirds of the workers surveyed suffered pay violations, losing roughly $2,600 in annual wages, which is about fi fteen percent of their yearly salaries, is especially alarming.2 This report, along with others, indicates the need for immigration reform has reached critical levels. Regrettably, the political discourse over immigration reform is entangled in America’s culture wars.3 Anti-immigrant activists maintain that immigrants come to the United States to take advantage of social welfare programs, health care services, and birthright citizenship. However, this anti-immigrant rhetoric does not adequately explain why people actually pack up and leave their home countries to come to the United States.