INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTS QUESTIONS:  

IMMIGRANT EMPLOYEE RIGHTS  

If you're an IMG on a J1 visa, this information is for you. The main concepts are: 

Regardless of immigration status, you have the same rights under the National Labor  Relations Act as all covered employees including the right to:  

  • Organize with a union to negotiate with your employer concerning your wages, hours, benefits, and other working conditions.  

  • Talk about working conditions with your co-workers, the public, or a union.  • Take action with your co-workers to try to improve your working conditions.  • Choose to do some or none of these actions. 

Employers must obey immigration laws, if you choose to talk to or take action with your co-workers to improve your working conditions, it is illegal for your employer to use your immigration status against you.  

For example:  

  • Employers cannot threaten to call ICE because you and your co-workers tried to join a union.  

  • Employers cannot demand that you produce new immigration papers because you talked with your co-workers or a union about your working conditions.

Union-Related Rights of International Workers In the U.S.  

Unions are not controlled by the government. Instead, they are associations governed of and by their members. Each union member has an equal right to vote for officers, attend union meetings, and participate in discussions at those meetings regardless of immigration or international employment status.  

Every person within the United States, including every international worker and student,  has the right to join a union under the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of association. All union members are protected with: 

  • “Weingarten Rights”: the right to have a union representative present when you are meeting with your employer if you reasonably believe that the meeting may result in discipline by the employer.  

  • It is illegal for an employer to retaliate against you for joining or organizing a union. This includes any recourse that may negatively alter your working relationship. 

If your employer is violating any of your rights as an employee, your union can, in many cases, help you address these issues by serving as your advocate.  Important Information About NLRB Investigations for Immigrant Workers