Immigration Status and Work Authorization is irrelevant and does not bar recovery of back-pay for work performed in Wage and Hour Cases

January 20, 2016Charles Pascal Cohen

Immigration status is irrelevant for the purposes of backpay, and has generally been protected from discovery in FLSA and NYLL cases. Undocumented workers are often taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers who deny minimum wage and overtime benefits to such employees. Often, employers understand that undocumented workers will not bring a claim against the employer for money earned and not paid, for fear of implicating their immigration status in any court proceeding and thereby adversely affecting any attempts to procure an immigration benefit, or worse.