Fact Sheet

CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR
THE ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN COMMUNITY

As the first American woman of Asian descent to be in a President's Cabinet, Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao has always stated her commitment and strong ties to this community.

Under her leadership, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) has made significant contributions to the advancement of the Asian Pacific American (APA) community through its human capital program, enforcement priorities, compliance assistance efforts and partnership activities.

Compliance Priorities in the APA Communities

The United States Department of Labor has established a compliance priority in low-wage industries with chronic violations, where large numbers of immigrant workers, including Asian Pacific Americans, are employed. These workers are more willing to accept low-wages and less likely to complain to the government when their rights have been violated. To meet this challenge, the Department employed directed enforcement, aggressive compliance assistance to both workers and employers, and strategic partnerships to ensure compliance problems in these industries do not go unabated.

ENFORCEMENT

Last year, the United States Department of Labor direct enforcement efforts in low-wage industries, such as garment manufacturing, health care, janitorial services, restaurants and the hotel industries, yielded $39,595,382 in back wages for workers. Over 80,000 workers in these industries received back wages.

• In February 2003, the Department reached a settlement in lawsuits filed against eleven Chicago area Chinese-style buffet restaurants. The settlement included payment of over $665,000 to more than 100 workers employed as busboys and kitchen help. The workers, mostly Asian and Hispanic, worked as many as 66 hours a week and were not paid overtime. In some instances, employees were paid less than minimum wage.
• As a result of a series of legal actions, the Department enabled the distribution of more than $1.2 million in unpaid wages to nearly 250 Asian garment workers employed in Northern California.

RECORD-BREAKING ENFORCEMENT OF EXECUTIVE ORDER 11246

Executive Order 11246 tasks the Labor Department only with enforcing nondiscrimination in employment by government contractors and subcontractors only. At the Department, enforcement is handled by the Office for Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). In fiscal year 2003, the OFCCP conducted the most Glass Ceiling Reviews in the history of the Glass Ceiling Audit Program. During these audits, OFCCP assessed whether corporations and universities erected a "glass ceiling" against all minorities, including Asian Pacific Americans.

• In FY 2003, OFCCP completed 7,709 compliance evaluations covering over 2.5 million workers-more reviews and more covered workers than any year since 1991.
• OFCCP completed 52 Corporate Management Reviews during FY 2003, a record number. Corporate Management Reviews ensure that all workers, including Asian Pacific Americans, have an equal opportunity to rise to management and executive positions.
• OFCCP focused on systemic discrimination cases in FY 2003, obtaining settlements which provided $26,220,356 in financial remedies to 14,361 minority, including Asian Pacific American, and female workers.
• For example, in 2002, financial settlements in discrimination cases in Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington State awarded back pay of nearly $160,000 to Asian Pacific Americans. Another $145,000 was awarded as back pay to Asian Pacific Americans in a case in Anchorage, Alaska during 2003.
• In FY 2003, OFCCP referred 12 systemic discrimination cases to the Office of the Solicitor for enforcement litigation, involving $27.3 million in estimated liability and over 1,500 workers. The Solicitor's Office filed enforcement litigation in 5 OFCCP cases this year, with estimated liability of more than $6.2 million and involving more than 2,400 workers.

COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE

As more and more immigrants work and establish businesses in the United States, the United States Department of Labor has increased its compliance assistance to Asian business and community organizations. More materials and a greater number of compliance assistance tools are being translated by the Department into non-English languages. Last year, the Department translated nine of its key compliance assistance fact sheets into Korean including fact sheets that provide compliance information in the key low-wage industries. Additional materials in Chinese and Vietnamese have been developed and will be published shortly. These materials are helping to protect the physical and financial security of Asian Pacific Americans.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

United States Department of Labor partnership and collaborative activities are used to leverage resources and broaden the impact of other strategies. Ongoing relationships and outreach with Department partners inform low-wage and immigrant workers of their rights and the remedies available to them. The Department has developed several successful partnership programs in the APA community.

• The Information Group for Asian American Rights (TIGAAR)

  The Information Group for Asian American Rights (TIGAAR) is a collaborative partnership in Houston, Texas, comprised of the United States Department of Labor with other government agencies and local Asian Pacific American community organizations as well as media outlets. TIGAAR's main objectives are:

  • To form a unique collaboration between government agencies and Asian American community organizations;
  • To educate the Asian American community about their rights under the laws enforced by the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission;
  • To educate Asian American Organizations and Advocacy Groups;
  • To educate Asian American community opinion leaders; and
  • To encourage Asian Americans to come forward with information that will solve their problems in the workplace.

  Through March 2004, the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has used the enforcement component of the TIGAAR initiative to collect over $187,000 for 248 employees. The TIGAAR compliance assistance program includes a 23-minute video describing common wage and hour violations, workplace safety violations, and examples of employment discrimination

• Operation COACH (Compliance Outreach to the Asian Community and Hispanics)

  The United States Department of Labor's office in northern New Jersey launched the Operation COACH (Compliance Outreach to the Asian Community and Hispanics) program. The COACH program broadens its significant compliance assistance program by going into the Asian and Hispanic communities and working directly with those employers and workers who traditionally have been reluctant to seek the Department's services. The main objectives of the COACH program are to:

  • Provide direct outreach to the Hispanic and Asian communities;
  • Expand partnerships with community centers; and,
  • Effectively use the media to promote the program.

  The Department's bi-lingual and Asian staff visiting employers, providing compliance assistance materials, and reaching out to business and professional organizations, community centers, and faith-based worker advocates. This effort is to provide face-to-face outreach that takes place in a non-adversarial atmosphere with over 400 businesses employing more than 2,300 workers in Hudson County alone.

Economic Development Initiatives for the Asian Pacific American Community

• National Emergency Grants:
  • $1 million to Chinatown, New York to assist dislocated workers in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks.
  • $584,700 to Georgia to assist workers who had been laid off from manufacturing closures. Many recipients are Thai Americans and Korean Americans with limited English abilities.
• Project Funding and Assistance:
  • Recognizing that economic freedom and entrepreneurship are a foundation for individual success and prosperity, Secretary Chao allocated $9 million over five years to initiate the Growing America Through Entrepreneurship Project (Project GATE), a joint venture between the United States Department of Labor and the Small Business Administration. Project GATE places emphasis on working thorough community-based organizations and one-stop centers to reach historically underserved ethnic populations and help diverse urban and rural populations create, support and expand small businesses.
  • To meet the needs of all workers, the United States Department of Labor awarded a $6.1 million grant to the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging in Seattle, Washington where the Senior Community Service Program provides training for low-income workers age 55 and older. The grant will help subsidize part-time employment in community service positions that will prepare older workers for placement in unsubsidized jobs.
  • The Department designed a program called GEM-SET III to encourage and target Asian and Hispanic immigrant girls, ages 13-18, in Chicago, New York City, Houston, Miami, and Los Angeles in exploring careers in Science, Engineering, and Technology.
• Association Health Plans (AHP): President Bush has called for enactment of Association Health Plan (AHP) legislation. Under the United States Department of Labor's oversight, AHPs would allow small businesses to band together across state lines and purchase affordable coverage for their employees. With an estimated 2 million Asian Pacific Americans lacking health insurance, the legislation will benefit Asian Pacific Americans in the workforce.

Worker Safety and Protection

• Compliance Assistance: To provide employers, workers, job seekers, and retirees with clear and easy-to-access information on how to comply with federal employment laws, the United States Department of Labor has developed a toll-free participant and compliance assistance phone number in over 150 languages, including multiple Asian languages.
• Pension Security: The United States Department of Labor provides compliance guides to help employers and employees understand federal benefits law and their rights and obligations under each pension plan.
• Ensuring Worker Safety: To make non-English speaking workers aware of government services and labor rules, the United States Department of Labor has worker safety awareness materials available in Chinese and Vietnamese. To ensure the safety of youth workers, the Department also distributes Chinese language manuals to teen workers.

Creating Opportunities for the Growing Asian Pacific American Community

• Appointments: Secretary Chao has appointed more Asian Pacific Americans to serve in top leadership positions at the United States Department of Labor than any other federal department leader.
• Cultivating young leaders: To foster a new generation of leaders and promote diversity in the workforce, Secretary Chao established an internship program at the United States Department of Labor that has benefited over 50 Asian Pacific Americans. Annually Secretary Chao meets with Asian Pacific American interns in the Washington D.C. area to highlight careers in leadership and public service.
• Career advancement: To help Asian Pacific Americans access career and leadership opportunities in the federal government, Secretary Chao initiated the annual Asian Pacific American Federal Career Advancement Summit in May 2001. Drawing over 850 federal employees in 2004, this unprecedented training program aims to equip government employees with the skill sets to become leaders in the American workforce. In 2004, Secretary Chao introduced the Asian Pacific American Federal Career Guide explaining the federal job search process, which is available online at www.dol.gov/dol/jobs/apa_fcg.pdf. Secretary Chao also launched an innovative Mentoring Program to foster professional development for all Department of Labor employees.
• Strengthening the community: Addressing the unique needs of the Asian Pacific and Hispanic American communities, the United States Departments of Labor partnered with federal agencies and non-profit organizations to host the first-ever Opportunities Conference in September 2003. Workshops provided participants with information about small business development, accessing capital, doing business with the government, opportunities for faith-based and community organizations, and assistance to workers with limited English proficiency. The conference drew over 1,200 attendees from around the country. The event was designed to help small businesses, non-profit organizations, and community organizations play a leadership role in the American economy. The next conference will be held on Tuesday, October 12, 2004 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC. Register online at www.opportunityconference.gov.

Other Accomplishments

• Unemployment Data: To better serve the Asian Pacific American communities, the United States Department of Labor's monthly unemployment report includes, for the first time, specific data on Asian Americans.
• Community Outreach: The United States Department of Labor has developed an alliance with the Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC) to broaden its outreach to the Asian Pacific American (APA) community and enable more Asian Pacific Americans to access training materials and develop skills critical to their advancement.
• Translations: Under Secretary Chao's leadership, the United States Department of Labor's "Handy Reference Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act" has been translated into Korean and Department of Labor financial literacy workshops include translated Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation material, such as "Money Smart" in Chinese and Korean. The Department also issues translated White House briefings for Korean American businesses.
• Learning the History: The Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) Web site features an interactive piece entitled "A Pictorial Walk Through the 20th Century - The Asian American in Mining." The dedication is concentrated on the contributions of Chinese miners in the gold fields of the American West and MSHA has plans to feature other Asian American groups in the future.
• Career Training for older Asian Pacific Americans: The United States Department of Labor sponsored a project in cooperation with CVS/pharmacy to assist older Asian Pacific American women obtain jobs with CVS/pharmacy by providing training in basic life and computer skills.