A Message from the Comptroller
New York City is the greatest immigrant city the world has ever known. For more than 400 years, new generations have moved here and defined what it means to be a New Yorker: the words we use, the foods we eat, the music we dance to, the neighborhoods we love.
Immigrant New Yorkers make New York City run – starting new businesses, building our city, caring for our communities, and bringing their talents, and expertise to every industry. Yet immigrant workers are far too often exploited by unscrupulous employers. Challenges unique to immigrants, such as anti-immigrant sentiment and discrimination, language barriers, and unfamiliarity with New York City’s services and protections make it harder for them to access and assert their rights in the workplace.
When exploitative employers take advantage of immigrant workers who may be afraid to speak up or may not know what their protections are, the rights of all workers are eroded.
My office is committed to using all the tools in its toolbox to fight for immigrant workers. In 2024, we released two resources: the Employer Violations Dashboard, which sheds light on private employers who commit labor violations in New York City; and Facts not Fear: How Welcoming Immigrants Benefits New York City, a report dispelling myths surrounding immigrants’ impact on the country and New York City. With this new Immigrant Workers Resource Guide, we provide information about basic workplace rights that impact many low-wage, undocumented immigrant workers, and a directory of partner organizations fighting to uphold immigrant rights across the five boroughs.
In Solidarity,
Brad Lander
New York City Comptroller
A Message from the Director of Workers Rights
The Bureau of Labor Law and Workers’ Rights at the Office of the New York City Comptroller is proud to present the Immigrant Workers’ Resource Guide.
Sadly, all too often, the workers who experience the most egregious abuses of their workplace rights are immigrant workers who are unaware of our rights or fearful of asserting them. To combat this, our office engages in outreach and education to inform workers about the labor protections available to them under state, federal, and local laws. By collaborating with government agency partners and community-based organizations, our office connects workers to resources that empower them to assert their rights in the workplace.
The Immigrant Resource Guide is a compilation of that work. The guide contains information about basic workplace rights, as well as a directory of organizations whose mission is to assist and protect immigrant workers. We want to ensure that all New York City workers, including immigrants, are empowered to assert our rights to fair and safe workplaces, and we hope that this Resource Guide will provide you with the tools and resources to do so.
Claudia Henriquez
Director of Workers Rights