Press Release

An injured Korean stock worker who worked more than 82 hours a week at a New York City warehouse won a settlement today of $5,000 to resolve his claim for his unpaid overtime wages.

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) Korean Workers Project, with help from YKASEC—Empowering the Korean American Community, represented Mr. “Kim ,” a Korean immigrant who worked at a warehouse and was fired after suffering a work-related injury.

Steven Choi, Director of the AALDEF Korean Workers Project, said, “Mr. Kim did strenuous physical labor for more than 82 hours a week at a time and was seriously injured on the job. Instead of being rewarded, he was fired. We are pleased to see that he has found some reward for his hard work.” Yu Soung Mun, Executive Director of YKASEC, commented, “Workers like Mr. Kim not only don’t know that they should get overtime, but also that if they are injured on the job, they are entitled by law to apply for workers’ compensation benefits. All injured workers should apply promptly for their benefits.”

The AALDEF Korean Workers Project successfully negotiated a $5,000 settlement to settle Mr. Kim’s wage and hour claims. During his employment at the warehouse, Mr. Kim worked 6 days a week for 12 hours a day, and every other Friday he would work from 6:30 a.m. to midnight or later. For this work, Mr. Kim was only paid a set weekly wage and never received any separate overtime pay. Mr. Kim also did not receive payment for his “spread of hours”, or the payment of an extra hour at minimum wage that workers receive for working more than 10 hours per day.

The AALDEF Korean Workers Project provides direct legal services free of charge to low-wage Korean immigrant workers. The Project also features community advocacy and educational activities in conjunction with YKASEC—Empowering the Korean American Community, a Queens-based community service organization.