Worker's Rights Forum to be Held in Washington Heights

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — Uptown officials and labor groups will offer workers a free resource to learn about workplace abuses and how to remedy them.

Attorneys from the law firm Stoll, Glickman and Bellina will conduct a workers rights and business repsonsibility forum in Washington Heights on Nov. 15 to discuss issues such as wage theft, overtime, minimum wage and workplace descrimination, according to an advisory from Community Board 12. Attorneys will be able to provide information and answer questions in both English and Spanish.

The event was organized by the community board, City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights (NMCIR) and Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC). Recently the Manhattan Borough President's office has signed on as a co-sponsor and the Mayor's office of Immigrant Affairs has said they would attend the workshop.

"No member of our community should be taken advantage of. We need to educate our workers on their rights and our businesses on their responsibilities," Community Board 12 Chair Shah Ally told Patch in an email. "If successful - both our workers and businesses - will have their rights protected."

Workplace descrimination can take many forms, including base on age, race, gender, pregnancy and disability, according U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In Washington Heights and Inwood recent cases of workplace abuse at Domino's and Poppa John's chains resulted in many immigrant workers getting ripped off, Ally said.

Business owners are also invited to the forum to learn how to properly run their business to ensure no workplace abuse is occurring, according to the advisory.

The forum will be held at 530 W. 166th St. from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., according to the advisory.

Patch has left a message with Community Board 12, which was not returned.

Here are two fliers (English/Spanish) for the event:

Photo: Courtesy of Community Board 12