Defying Silence: Immigrant Women Workers, Wage Theft, and Anti-Retaliation Policy in the State

This journal article analyses the systemic wage theft experienced by undocumented women workers in the US, and questions how state governments should respond to it. The article focuses on the nail salon industry as a locus for these practices. Part I of the article introduces the problems commonly faced by immigrant women workers, including widespread minimum wage violations and workplace harassment. Part II discusses the benefits and limitations of the legal regimes currently available to these undocumented female workers. These include government enforcement, criminal prosecution and private enforcement. Finally, Part III recommends the implementation of anti-retaliation policies so that undocumented workers don’t have their immigration status threatened when coming forward.