Protecting the Workplace Rights of Millennial Migrants

By Jonathan Guadian

The Law Students on Workers’ Rights series publishes essays from current and incoming students at some of the top law schools in the country. These essays, submitted for the Charles E. Joseph Employment Law Scholarship, address the question “What are the biggest challenges facing workers’ rights in the future?”

Most people migrating into the United States within the past few years are millennials. This is unsurprising, since millennials are comprising the age group of people who are work ready, and as global climate change continues to ravage nations in Central and South America, we are experiencing an influx of millennial working-class migrants settling in our nation for the sole purpose of building an economically prosperous life for themselves and for their families. 

While the increase in people fueling the American economy is without a doubt a great fact, it also brings about the concerns of the increasing instances of workplace abuses happening to the millennial working-class migrants who are now calling our nation their home. 

Many of the abuses that affect this working population are incurred due to their status as undocumented workers; employers become more emboldened to inflict abuses towards their undocumented employees for two reasons: first, undocumented workers are less likely to report workplace abuses out of fear of retaliation, which can lead to deportation. Second, undocumented workers are less likely to report workplace abuses because they are unaware of their rights as laborers in the United States. Thus, the biggest challenge facing workers in the future is the lack of worker’s rights knowledge possessed by millennial immigrant workers. 

Of course, we must take issue with any violation of worker’s rights because of a moral standpoint. Economically, we must also consider the fact that the immigrant laborer population comprises a significant portion of our workforce, and when the civil rights abuses that we perpetuate against them become widespread enough, it could discourage people from seeking economic prosperity here, which can damage our own economy. 

Today, after the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed a significant decline in our workforce, and we must accept the reality that our immigrant community is keeping our economy intact on various levels. We must protect them not only because it’s the correct thing to do as human beings, but also because we depend on them, and when they hurt, our communities also hurt. The community that intends to dedicate their careers to civil rights lawyering must place special emphasis on the civil rights violations that are creating significant problems for immigrant laborers.

Throughout the nation, we are seeing egregious stories on this topic, most notably stories involving immigrant laborers who are frontline workers being exposed to precarious circumstances, which is something that has been an issue since immigrant folks started migrating here for work, but only recently became the forefront of national news because of the pandemic. Worker’s rights violations in the United States are a civil rights issue and a human rights issue, as well as one of the most significant issues facing the millennial generation because the millennial generation is now the predominant working generation. 

Civil rights attorneys must not be so naive to believe that our efforts alone can create the change we are hoping to see in our communities, because there are so few of us, and so many people needing help. People who are wanting to contribute to the betterment of our communities must place their focus on movement lawyering, which would mean using legal training and expertise to aid community organizers dedicated toward creating positive change in our societies. 

As an organizer myself, one of the greatest assets that my groups have utilized has been the attorneys who have consistently made themselves available to answer questions that we constantly have which arise from our efforts. Each of the attorneys who took the time to work with us and follow our leads have made enormous differences in our abilities to be effective in our goals. 

While it remains equally important to focus on individual cases involving civil rights violations, significant change can arise only through movement lawyering, because it can extend the knowledge bestowed upon attorneys to the community. Ideas regarding movement lawyering can take the form of assisting community organizers with the development of know your rights materials for laborers, which can then be distributed by the various networks of established communities, or even supporting community organizers with the conducting of know your rights workshops for laborers. 

In essence, the big-picture idea behind movement lawyering is to use the legal education that civil rights attorneys receive to support the work that is already being done in the community to ensure the violations of the working rights of millennial immigrant workers are being mitigated and hopefully, eventually ended. 

It is my intention to use the legal education that I will receive at the City University of New York School of Law to serve my community as a movement lawyer once I graduate and provide the resources necessary to ensure the workplace abuses do not continue. It is the immigrant millennial who is building and repairing our nation, and we must do everything we can to protect them. 

Reflections from Charles Joseph

Many Americans don’t fully understand their rights under federal and state laws. And that number rises when it comes to immigrants working in the U.S. Federal employment laws protect workers from national origin discrimination, but most workers probably don’t realize their legal protections. And when it comes to protections for H-1B immigrants, the understanding is likely even lower.

As Jonathan Guadian argues, it’s critically important for civil rights and employment lawyers to advocate for immigrant workers. Community engagement, organizing, and education can all help protect the rights of Millennial migrants.

Jonathan Guadian holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of North Texas. In the fall, he will join the class of 2026 at CUNY School of Law. 

Charles Joseph has over two decades of experience as an NYC employment lawyer. He is the founder of Working Now and Then and the founding partner of Joseph and Kirschenbaum, a firm that has recovered over $140 million for clients.