Los Angeles, CA – Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles (“Advancing Justice-LA”) is outraged at the treatment of the Chinese domestic worker in Minnesota who allegedly endured human trafficking, false imprisonment, and assault at the hands of her employer. The domestic worker first began working for the trafficker and her family in Shanghai as a nanny, where she was treated well, before she agreed to continue working for the wealthy family in the United States. However, after arriving in the United States, the domestic worker, who only speaks Chinese, had her passport taken away, and was physically assaulted, starved, and forced to work 18-hour days.
Unfortunately, stories like these—immigrant workers lured to the U.S. on temporary visas to work for exploitative employers who share the same country of origin—are shockingly common, especially in the Asian immigrant community. Such disturbing exploitation can happen anywhere, including here in the Los Angeles area. Advancing Justice-LA has successfully helped exploited workers more than two decades ago, and continue to fight for such workers today. Immigrant workers, like the Chinese domestic worker from Minnesota, have basic legal rights. American and California law prohibit mistreatment of workers, even if the worker does not have lawful immigration status.
To explain more about the laws that protect workers, attorneys at Advancing Justice – LA will be holding a free, Mandarin-language workshop on employment law from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm on Sunday, July 24, 2016. The workshop will take place at the Asian Youth Center located at 100 West Clary Avenue in San Gabriel. No reservations are needed. Community members may also call Advancing Justice – LA’s toll-free Chinese legal helpline at (800) 520-2356 to learn more about their rights under the law.
