We join our voices with the Las Vegas workers and allies petitioning the US Labor Department to take immediate action to shield hundreds of Las Vegas workers from the unlawful and dangerous business practices of Unforgettable Coatings, Inc. We know that a company that uses its own employees’ immigration status to steal from them, to silence them, is bad for all working people.

For years, Unforgettable Coatings has willfully violated the rights of its employees by refusing to pay for overtime hours worked, stealing its own employees’ wages, and then reorganizing its policies to cover its tracks. On top of these wage and hour violations, health and safety violations are also rampant at the company. One employee suffered a fall from a two-story roof because the company has ignored safety harness standards, and even said that workers putting these on – which takes about 30 seconds – is too much time.

Worst of all, Unforgettable Coatings, Inc. has intimidated their employees into silence, threatening retaliation against any who would cooperate with Labor Department investigations of the company. This included explicit threats about immigration consequences if the company were to become entangled in a labor rights investigation as a result of workers’ complaints.

As you know, the US Labor Department has documented and confirmed these abuses in its own investigations. More than that, these investigations resulted in charges against the company, and a federal court order that finds over 400 employees suffered these abuses.

There are current employees at Unforgettable Coatings that are courageously stepping forward. Some workers are U-Visa eligible based on Labor Department findings, but you have not yet certified their petitions. We ask that US Labor certify pending petitions for U-Visas, and create a formal process to solicit U-Visa petitions for the many other Unforgettable Coatings, Inc. employees that rightfully deserve relief.

Over 400 employees referenced in the court order suffered unforgettable abuses by Unforgettable Coatings, Inc., and there must be Labor Department action to protect these workers, whistleblower protections, now. That begins by removing the threat of deportation, so they can move their cases forward without fear of further retaliation.

When workers are threatened for speaking out about workplace abuse or unsafe working conditions, it’s bad for all working people. Today, the US Labor Department must take action to ensure that these Las Vegas workers can count on whistleblower protections so they can move forward in processing their grievances – as US labor law requires.

It’s time for deferred action protections now.