Mayor Adams Announces Mediation Program to Help Domestic Workers Resolve Workplace Disputes

Mayor Adams Announces Mediation Program to Help Domestic Workers and Employers Resolve Workplace Disputes

NEW YORK, NY: New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga, and the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) Commissioner Asim Rehman on December 6 announced the launch of a new Domestic Worker Mediation Program, created to help the city’s approximately 18,000 domestic workers and their employers resolve workplace issues in a respectful, confidential, and free way without going to court. A previous report conducted by DCWP has found that more than half of the city’s domestic workers — the majority of whom are immigrants and women of color — have experienced wage theft, safe and sick leave violations, harassment, discrimination, and fear of retaliation from their employers if they report illegal behavior. Mediation — which benefits both workers and employers — is voluntary and available to resolve workplace issues related to unpaid wages and overtime, paid safe and sick leave violations, and retaliation. The program builds on Mayor Adams’ commitment to ensure that New York City’s domestic workers — those who work directly for a private household, like housecleaners, nannies, or other care providers — are offered the support and resources they need to thrive. “Domestic workers do vital work each and every day to care for our loved ones, often for low wages and minimal workplace protections, and, as a blue-collar mayor, I am committed to uplifting all workers across our city, especially the immigrants and women of color who power so many of our critical service industries.,” said Mayor Adams. “Through this new mediation program, we will empower these workers to resolve disputes with their employers and ensure they are afforded the same protections that workers in other industries enjoy. Thank you to the teams at DCWP and OATH for helping to launch this new program and support our city’s workers.” “Domestic workers — who are predominantly immigrants and women of color — perform essential work to provide care and support for our loved ones, and they deserve to be treated fairly,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development Maria TorresSpringer. “Through our new domestic worker mediation program, we will ensure care workers and their employers are able to resolve disputes without having to resort to costly litigation, ensuring access to basic workplace protections and supporting our city’s more equitable recovery.” “Many New Yorkers rely on domestic workers to help care for our families and our homes, but too often they are denied the most basic workplace protections, with no HR to turn to and employers who may not know all of the obligations they owe their employees,” said DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga. “This new program marks a victory for domestic workers and will go far in strengthening their rights, as well as educating their employers on how best to follow the law. We thank the mayor and Commissioner

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Domestic Workers / continued from page 5 Rehman for collaborating with us to find creative ways to protect some of our city’s most vulnerable and dedicated workers.” “When city agencies and employees need a place to mediate their disputes, OATH’s Center for Creative Conflict Resolution is there to help,” said OATH Commissioner and Chief Administrative Law Judge Asim Rehman. “I’m so glad that the Center’s work will now include the Domestic Worker Mediation Program. Mediation is a win-win for employers and employees because it provides a faster resolution without the expense and adversarial nature of a formal court action.” “The intimate nature of the services provided by domestic workers — care of family members and dependents within an employer’s home — requires healthy, respectful, and trusting relationships,” said Raymond Kramer, administrative law judge and executive director, Center for Creative Conflict Resolution, OATH. “When conflicts arise that threaten those relationships, employers and employees now have an opportunity to work them out directly with the help or our highly skilled mediators in a private, neutral, and supportive environment. We’re thrilled to be part of this innovative program.” “Our experience at Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network is that people who employ domestic workers want to do the right thing, but they just don’t have the resources or support they need,” said Tatiana Bejar, New York City lead organizer, Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network. “This mediation program will assist employers in resolving conflict and creating a fair, equitable, and safe work environment for the nannies, house cleaners, and home care workers who work in their homes. We’re proud to be a part of this collaborative and innovative effort that recognizes the essential labor of domestic workers.” “Domestic workers, who are often immigrant women of color, may be apprehensive about filing complaints and engaging in adversarial approaches with their employers,” said Leydis Munoz, enforcement program manager, National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) – New York Chapter. “We are excited that the mediation program offers an alternative way for domestic workers to engage in the process of asserting rights and resolving issues in the workplace.”l ing workers, or workers from Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras, with a start date in the first half of the fiscal year, USCIS will not accept any requests for premium processing until Jan. 3, 2023. USCIS will reject the I-907 and return the premium processing filing fee, if the I-907 was received before Jan. 3, 2023.

Background The H-2B program permits employers to temporarily hire noncitizens to perform nonagricultural labor or services in the United States. The employment must be for a limited period of time, and the petitioner must have a temporary need for the labor or services to be performed such as a one-time occurrence, peakload, seasonal or intermittent need.Employers seeking to hire H-2B workers under the FY 2023 supplemental cap must attest that they are suffering or will suffer impending irreparable harm without the ability to employ all of the H-2B workers requested on the petition. Employers seeking to hire H-2B workers must take a series of steps to test the U.S. labor market.They must provide certification from DOL that proves there are not enough U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to do the temporary work for which they seek a prospective foreign worker, and that employing the H-2B workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. Employers filing an H-2B petition 30 or more days after the certified start date on the temporary labor certification must also take certain additional steps to recruit U.S. workers. DHS will subject employers that have committed certain labor law violations in the H-2B program to additional scrutiny in the supplemental cap petition process. This additional scrutiny is aimed at ensuring compliance with H-2B program requirements and obligations.l

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Automatic Extension of Green Cards for Naturalization Applicants

Effective Dec. 12, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating the USCIS Policy Manual to allow USCIS to automatically extend the validity of Permanent Resident Cards (commonly called Green Cards) for lawful permanent residents who have applied for naturalization. This update is expected to help naturalization applicants who experience longer processing times, because they will receive an extension of lawful permanent resident (LPR) status and may not need to file Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (Green Card). LPRs who properly file Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, may receive this extension without regard to whether they filed Form I-90. USCIS will update the language on Form N-400 receipt notices to extend Green Cards for up to 24 months for these applicants. The receipt notice can be presented with the expired Green Card as evidence of continued status as well as identity and employment authorization under List A of Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9), if presented before the expiration of the 24-month extension period provided in the notice. Prior to this change, under USCIS policy, naturalization applicants who did not apply for naturalization at least six months before their Green Card expiration date needed to file Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (Green Card), to maintain proper documentation of their lawfulstatus. Applicants who applied for naturalization at least six months prior to their Green Card expiration were eligible to receive an Alien Documentation, Identification, and Telecommunications (ADIT) stamp in their passport, which served as temporary evidence of their LPR status. This policy was based on the processing goal of 180 days or six months for Form N-400s, which would make filing Form I-90 unnecessary for applicants who filed at least six months before their Green Card expiration date. This policy update recognizes USCIS’ current processing times, while improving flexibility and efficiency by reducing the number of ADIT stamp appointments in field offices and the number of Form I-90s filed, which allows for these resources to be focused on other immigration benefit adjudications. The extension will apply to all applicants who file Form N-400 on or after Dec. 12, 2022. LPRs who filed for naturalization prior to Dec. 12 will not receive a Form N-400 receipt notice with the extension. If their Green Card expires, they generally must still file Form I-90 or receive an ADIT stamp in their passport, in order to maintain valid evidence of their lawful permanent resident status. Lawful permanent residents who lose their Green Card generally must still file Form I-90, even if they have applied for naturalization and received the automatic extension under this updated policy. This is because noncitizens must carry within their personal possession proof of registration, such as the Green Card and any evidence of extensions or may be subject to criminal prosecution under INA 264(e).

Should You Apply for Citizenship? Citizenship is the common thread that connects all Americans. We are a nation bound not by race or religion but by the shared values of freedom, liberty, and equality. Throughout history, the United States has welcomed newcomers from all over the world. Immigrants have helped shape and define the country we know today. Their contributions help preserve our legacy as a land of freedom and opportunity. More than 200 years after our founding, naturalized citizens are still an important part of our democracy. By becoming a U.S. citizen, you, too, will have a voice in how our nation is governed. The decision to apply is a significant one. Citizenship offers many benefits and equally important responsibilities. By applying, you are demonstrating your commitment to this country and our form of government. Your children 17 years and under would derive citizenship from you. Also, as a U.S. citizen, you cannot be deported. l