Immigration and Your Rights at Work

Information on this page is not legal advice. If you have questions about yourself or a specific situation, please talk to an immigration lawyer. If you need help finding an attorney, contact the Worker Center.

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Immigrant and undocumented workers are entitled to most of the same protections as all other workers. This includes being paid a minimum wage, a safe workplace, protection from discrimination and harassment, and compensation if you are injured at work. More information on your rights at work can be found here.

All workers have a right to a safe workplace. Workers in private sector workplaces, including undocumented workers, are protected by OSHA. Reporting unsafe working conditions to OSHA is a right for all. Safety and health complaints can be filed anonymously, and whistleblower complaints can be filed by a representative. If you have questions, or would like WNYCOSH to file a complaint on your behalf, please contact the Worker Center Hotline at 716-206-3550.

Undocumented workers are covered by Workers’ Compensation in New York State. If you are injured on the job and your workplace is covered by the workers’ compensation system, you are eligible for benefits. More information about Workers’ Compensation can be found here and here.

If your employer fails to pay you a minimum wage and any overtime you are owed, you can file a complaint with the NYS Department of Labor. This includes workers who are being paid under the table, off the books, or in cash. Under the law, employers cannot retaliate against workers for filing a complaint. More information can be found here.

NYS law protects all people from discrimination in employment, education, credit, and purchasing or renting a home or commercial space based on many factors, including race, national origin, color,  and immigration/citizenship status. A full list can be found here. If you think you have been discriminated against for one of these factors, you can file a complaint with the NYS Department of Human Rights.

If you have questions about your rights at work or need assistance filing a complaint, please contact the Worker Center.

While employers can ask for citizenship status or legal documents as part of the hiring process, they are not allowed to discriminate in their hiring based on that. Some employers are mandated to ask as part of the hiring process, but most are not. If you think that you were discriminated against during a hiring process, please contact the Worker Center or file a complaint here.

Employers are not allowed to ask for more or different documents than are required to verify employment eligibility and you identity. They also cannot reject reasonably genuine-looking documents or ask for certain documents over others.

Form I-9 has the different forms of acceptable documentation listed here, in English and Spanish. 

Employers cannot limit their hiring to U.S. citizens unless they are required to do so by law.

Immigration officials may come to a business for a few reasons:

• a Form I-9 audit
• a raid
• to detain specific people

A Form I-9 audit is when immigration checks an employer’s compliance with Form I-9, which confirms a worker’s identity and authorization to work in the US.

An ICE raid occurs when ICE agents go to a workplace without warning as part of an investigation. ICE may come to a workplace looking for a specific person. While they are there, they may try to question, detain, or arrest other workers as well.

ICE agents can enter public areas of businesses without permission unless they have a judicial warrant. This includes dining areas, lobbies, waiting areas, and parking lots.

Workers do not have to give ICE agents without a judicial warrant permission to enter private areas of businesses without getting their employer’s permission first.  You do not have to speak to an ICE agent without an attorney or answer questions about your work or coworkers. 

If you are concerned about immigration agents visiting your workplace, talk with coworkers and, if you are comfortable, with your employer about your rights and how to respond.

For more information, and a guide for employers on their rights, visit NELP’s page here.