U.S. Seals Another Deal to Protect Illegal Aliens’ “Workplace Rights”
In a final push to ensure the “workplace rights” of illegal immigrants in the U.S., the Obama administration continues to sign pacts with foreign countries guaranteeing to protect their nationals from discrimination on the job.
This month its Ecuador’s turn and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that enforces the nation’s workplace discrimination laws, is sealing the deal. In past years the Department of Labor (DOL) has executed similar agreements with an assortment of countries, including Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and India. In fact, under Obama’s first Labor Secretary, former California Congresswoman and influential La Raza figure Hilda Solis, the DOL signed a number of these “partnership agreements” vowing to protect illegal aliens working in the U.S.
Solis even created a special division at the DOL to enforce labor and wage laws in industries that typically hire illegal aliens without reporting anyone to federal immigration authorities. Protecting the workplace rights of “vulnerable” migrants was a big priority at the agency under her leadership. During a ceremony to celebrate pacts with several foreign countries Solis said that “migrant workers make important contributions to our economy,” and that the deals will “help ensure these workers are aware of the right to safe workplaces and to receive full payment of the wages owed to them under the laws of the United States.”
The effort continues and has carried over to other government entities such as the EEOC, an out-of-control agency which is always on the prowl for discrimination even when it’s not there. Last year Judicial Watch reported that, to keep with the Obama administration’s mission of operating a politically correct government, nearly half of the federal agency rulings dismissing employee discrimination were overturned by the EEOC. This cost American taxpayers an astounding $51.4 billion to settle discrimination claims that often had no merit. The EEOC has also taken unprecedented legal action against businesses nationwide, accusing them of everything from discriminating against minorities for running criminal background and credit checks to discriminating against Muslims for not allowing hijabs at work.
Next week the agency will sign a National Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ecuador to “provide Ecuadorian nationals with information, guidance and access to education and training resources to help them exercise their workplace rights.” The deal will “establish ongoing collaboration to fight discrimination,” according to an EEOC announcement. The agency will hold a ceremony at its Washington D.C. headquarters on November 10 to execute the MOU with Ecuadorian Ambassador Francisco Borja Cevallos. It’s part of an agency plan to “protect the rights of immigrants, migrants and other vulnerable workers,” according to the EEOC announcement.
Earlier this year the agency signed similar contracts with the Philippines and Mexico, the nation that sends the U.S. the largest number of illegal immigrants. Mexican Ambassador Eduardo Medina boasted that the pact “formalizes a fruitful and standing relationship between Mexico” and the EEOC and that the joint effort empowers Mexican workers in the U.S. EEOC Chair Jacqueline Berrien said that “stopping and remedying unlawful employment discrimination against immigrant, migrant and other vulnerable workers” is an agency priority. Here is the link to the actual MOU, which outlines the overall objective, training and education, outreach and communication and promotion of a dialogue.