Ordinarily, when the U.S. Department of Labor launches one of its awareness programs for worker rights, it barely gets notice.
But when Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis was in Chicago recently to promote the new campaign she stirred some unexpected controversy.
At the heart of the labor department's "We Can Help" campaign is educating workers on how to file complaints to recover wages owed from employers.
Using Spanish/English bilingual public service announcements, the department says it wants to emphasize that wage and hour laws apply to "all workers in the United States, regardless of immigration status," according to a labor department press release.
So there's the rub -- "regardless of immigration status." Solis emphasized that in Chicago:
"The nation's laws are for the protection of everyone who works in this country," Solis said...
