Barriers faced by low-wage and immigrant workers are unparalleled, for these workers are far less likely to obtain living wages, work in a safe environment, or receive opportunities for career advancement.

Geographical areas with large numbers of low-income and immigrant workers are likely sites of worker maltreatment. Throughout agricultural centers of southern Texas, Florida and California; within the meat and poultry packing and processing plants of the Midwest; and the manufacturing and construction sites of the south, low-wage and undocumented workers are vulnerable. Often, these groups cannot unionize, and community support falters because there's always little room for complaints -- even valid complaints about discrimination and abuse.

Because of precarious legal statuses or other vulnerabilities, these workers are subjected to payment that's at or below minimum wage; lack of overtime pay; work without paid family leave, paid sick leave or paid vacation time; wage or tip theft; limited opportunities for promotion to higher status or higher-paid jobs; and exposure to hazardous working conditions without proper protective equipment or procedures. Also, they are vulnerable to sexual violence, sexual harassment, exploitation and trafficking.

"Low-wage workers may be particularly vulnerable to exploitation and violence because they may have limited skills or education, which can limit job opportunities and choices," Maya Raghu, an attorney with Futures Without Violence, said to Latin Post. "The low wages can keep them from establishing savings and economic security, making it harder to quit a job if they experience exploitation or violence. For example, our partners the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United released a report last fall on sexual harassment in the restaurant industry. Restaurant workers receive the tipped minimum wage, which is only $2.13 per hour. More than 70 percent of tipped restaurant workers nationally are women. The report details how restaurant workers have to rely on tips to try to obtain a living wage; tipped restaurant workers are twice as likely to use food stamps than the general workforce, and are three times as likely to live in poverty. Forcing workers to rely on tips creates a coercive environment where workers endure a lot of hostile or abusive working conditions, including sexual harassment/assault from customers and/or managers, in order to keep their jobs and get those tips."

Language barriers are also a factor for immigrant workers, contributing to fear of deportation and ignorance about rights in the U.S., including workers' rights. Many workers live in fear of retaliation (including job loss, physical violence and sexual violence) if they attempt to report supervisors for discriminatory behavior, labor violations or unsafe working conditions, which then helps to facilitate exploitation, insecurity and violence. According to Raghu, employers sometimes turn a blind eye to co-workers or supervisors who discriminate against a particular race or nationality, and sexually abuse vulnerable employees, as long as work is completed.

"Restaurants, factories and farms employ a lot of workers who are immigrants -- many of them undocumented -- who work for low wages," Raghu said. "We know from our partnership with groups representing these workers that they are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, and threats to health and safety are common. Because these workers are have very little power relative to the employers and business owners, and may not have the knowledge, ability or desire to challenge unsafe practices, those abuses often go unchecked. The U.S. Department of Labor and OSHA, and agencies like them in each state, have laws and regulations that govern employment practices and workplace safety and health, but those agencies don't have adequate resources to conduct enough investigations or enforce violations. The EEOC has brought some lawsuits on behalf of farmworkers who were raped and/or sexually harassed."

The Southern Poverty Law Center, for example, is an organization that has produced reports on workplace exploitation and safety issues, focusing on a number of topics, including low-income Latinos in the South and immigrant women in the food industry. Rahgu, who shared this information, also communicated that female and male workers often endure threats of physical and sexual violence, although it's most common among female workers. There are reports that document the volume by which female farm workers in the U.S., (most of whom are Hispanic/Latina) experience coercion by supervisors; and these women continue to be manipulated due to threats to their person or livelihood.

According to Raghu, making sure that workers are empowered is in part a matter of educating workers about their rights and providing them contact information for places they can safely go for help. Also, federal and state agencies must increase investigations of workplaces, and regulate and protect workers' rights and health, and there must be enforcement actions against employers.

"While education and enforcement are important, Futures believes that long-term, sustainable change can only happen by transforming attitudes and fostering cooperation between different workplace stakeholders. That's why many leading workers rights groups are not only pursuing litigation, reporting and policy work, but also trying to engage employers in their industry or area who want to do the right thing and be role models/leaders," said Raghu. "You have to address this issue proactively, and not wait for bad things to happen; it's also important to engage in preventative work as well -- educating workers, having a clear workplace policy, avenues for reporting, and accountability for wrongdoers."

Futures Without Violence strongly believes that individuals shouldn't have to choose between their jobs and their safety. They support nationwide campaigns to raise the minimum wage, provide paid sick leave and a domestic worker bills of rights to workers, and provide protection for temporary workers from violence and trafficking.

The organization works with leading unions and workers centers, as well as experts in the domestic and sexual violence field, to increase the personal safety and economic security of workers. Their goal is to change the social norm of the workplace, so that "violence and exploitation aren't acceptable or profitable, and employers and workers collaborate to make that a reality."

Visit the Futures Without Violence website and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

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