The New York Daily News reports that a task force created in July 2015 by New York governor Andrew Cuomo has opened more than 450 investigations into worker exploitation.
The multi-state-agency task force has thus far found more than 2,700 violations involving more than 2,000 workers, according to the newspaper. Uncovered violations include wage theft, lack of mandatory workers’ compensation coverage, and retaliation against those who complained.
Most of the investigations focused on exploitation in the nail salon industry, which heavily employs immigrants who in large numbers do not speak English. Reportedly, 321 cases involved nail salons, 66 cases pertained to restaurants, 28 applied to the construction industry, 17 involved car washes, and 20 dealt with the agriculture industry.