Since coming to the US from Ecuador in 2016, Jackson Torres Cabello has worked for a Queens-based building company in a variety of roles, putting in an average of almost 60 hours a week.

Workers Protesting.Photo byWorkers Justice Project

In a letter to the New York State Labor Department, Cabello says the problem is that he hasn't been paid for the hundreds of hours he worked.

Cabello, 45, said he whined about not getting paid until May when he was fired. He thinks that his boss owes him tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid overtime.

Migrants Are Suing Six Local Construction Companies

Twenty-two building workers from South and Central America, including Cabello, are suing six local construction companies for not paying them their wages. They got help from the Workers Justice Project, a lobbying group that held protests last week outside of each company's office.
A spokesman for the state Department of Labor, Aaron Cagwin, said that the agency had received pay theft claims against all of the companies named by the advocacy group. The workers are allegedly owed a total of $114,000 by these companies.

Company Did Not Respond To Questions

Cabello's old company, Ceprine Construction, did not answer questions about the claims. It was not possible to get in touch with KEP Construction, G&B Construction NY Corp., Francisco Giron LLC, or Franklin Mauricio Chuquiguanga. The owner of SK Group Construction told Gothamist that the claims that his company stole wages were not true.

Underpaid immigrant workers have been a problem for a long time, especially those who don't have legal immigration status. Now, there is a new government tool that can help people with their claims.

New guidelines published by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last year let foreign workers claiming they were stolen of wages request "deferred action." The federal government will not remove them therefore while their accusations are under investigation. The guidelines also state that employees should obtain work permits so they may engage in appropriate employment.