Press Release

NEW YORK, NY — The AALDEF Korean Workers Project is the only project in the East Coast designed specifically to serve the needs of low-income workers of Korean descent. Many of the over 200,000 Korean Americans working in the New York City area work as waiters, hairdressers, nail salon workers, and grocery cashiers. These workers are often subjected to serious, unlawful labor violations — they are not properly paid minimum wage or overtime, are forced to work in hazardous conditions, for overly long hours, and without proper safety equipment. Many face additional barriers because they are immigrants and/or non-citizens.

The Korean Workers Project provides traditional direct legal services free of charge to low-wage Korean immigrant workers, and also works in conjunction with YKASEC — Empowering the Korean American Community to offer community education and outreach efforts. By combining these two approaches, the Korean Workers Project seeks to protect the rights of these Korean immigrant workers and to help them achieve social and economic justice.

For more information, contact attorney Steve Choi at 212-966-5932 or schoi@aaldef.org, or download the Korean Workers Project Press Release and Guide.