DOL’s Wage and Hour Division Launches Hotline for Spanish-Speaking Workers

The DOL partnered with federal and state agencies, nonprofits and Central American and Mexican consulates to provide information and assistance on employment related issues.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has officially launched an initiative for Spanish-speaking workers in Oregon and Northern California called the Employment, Education and Outreach (EMPLEO).

The EMPLEO program began 11 years ago in southern California to help immigrants who don’t speak English, and has since expanded to Idaho, Washington, Nevada, Hawaii, and most recently Northern California and Oregon.

Callers to the hotline are connected to Spanish-speaking volunteers trained by the partner organizations that can assist workers. These volunteers do not work for any governmental agency. They refer callers to the appropriate organization, consulate or state or federal agency for help. This arrangement can help ease various concerns of workers uncomfortable with contacting an agency directly. The toll-free EMPLEO hotline is 1-877-552-9832 or 1-877-55-AYUDA.

Second Largest Spanish-speaking Country

There are 41 million native Spanish-speaking workers in the United States, and employers are going to see an increase in their Spanish-speaking workforce. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that by 2050 the U.S. will have 138 million Spanish speakers.

Many large employers want to communicate important labor law information to Spanish-speaking employees but often don’t have space to display all the State and Federal postings in Spanish.

Spanish Labor Law Posters

GovDocs offers Spanish Combined Posters for 34 states, which include agency-provided Spanish translations of Federal and State labor law postings in one convenient format.

GovDocs Spanish Combined State and Federal Posters:

• Help your Spanish-speaking employees know their rights
• Provide Spanish-speaking workers a central location to view their employee rights
• Include only agency-provided translations required in Spanish, ensuring translation accuracy
• Save wall space and reduce the number of labor law compliance posters for locations to manage

Please contact us for more information.