TY  - CHAP
AB  - Purpose This study examines the conditions that lead to workplace violations for low-wage immigrant workers, and how family life shapes their decision to speak up. I also highlight how both employer abuse and the claimsmaking process can impact individuals and their families.Methodology/approach This research adopts a mixed-method approach that includes a survey of 453 low-wage workers seeking pro bono legal assistance and 115 follow-up interviews with claimants. I also conduct a five-year ethnography of both a monthly state workshop provided for injured workers and a pro bono legal aid clinic in a predominantly Latino agricultural community on the California central coast.Findings Beyond the material effects of lost income, the stress of fighting for justice can have negative emotional impacts that intersect with complex family dynamics. While families can be an important source of support and inspiration during this time, the burden of the breadwinner can also temper workers’ willingness to engage the labor standards enforcement system. Transnational obligations can further introduce a demobilizing dual frame of reference for workers who often hide their abuse from family members abroad who depend on them.Research implications Workplace abuse and the actual process of legal mobilization can have far-reaching effects on the families of low-wage immigrant workers, suggesting the need for a more holistic understanding of the claimsmaking experience.Originality/value This chapter tracks the challenges that workers face even once they have come forward to fight for their rights, and the multiple effects on families and children.
VL  - 27
SN  - 978-1-78441-632-4, 978-1-78441-631-7/0277-2833
DO  - 10.1108/S0277-283320150000027010
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/S0277-283320150000027010
AU  - Gleeson Shannon
PY  - 2015
Y1  - 2015/01/01
TI  - Between Support and Shame: The Impacts of Workplace Violations for Immigrant Families
T2  - Immigration and Work
T3  - Research in the Sociology of Work
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 29
EP  - 52
Y2  - 2024/04/25
ER  -