by changer | Nov 12, 2014 | Immigration, Workers' Rights
Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation on March 29th 2013 that increased the minimum wage in three increments, $8.00 an hour on 12/31/13, $8.75 an hour beginning 12/31/14, and $9.00 an hour beginning 12/31/15.
The minimum wage laws apply to all workers, even if you are undocumented or paid in cash or off the record. You must receive at least $8.75 per hour, regardless of whether you are paid on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis. Overtime will also increase to a minimum of $13.13 for hours exceeding 40 in a work week.
For more information on the minimum wage please visit the New York State Department of Labor.
If you or someone you know is receiving less than $8.00 an hour, or $8.75 an hour beginning 12/31/14 or is not receiving overtime please contact CMS’ Linea Laboral 877-525-2267.
Linea Laboral is a call center for workers to learn about their rights and report abuses. Linea Laboral is part of the Immigrant Workers’ Rights Program (IWRP). This program assists workers across New York and New Jersey in disputes over wage and hour violations, unsafe working conditions, and other workplace abuses. Since the development of IWRP in 2009 we have sent nearly 1,000 complaints to federal and state government agencies and have recovered around $250,000 in wages.
For more information on the Immigrant Workers’ Rights Program click here.
by changer | Nov 3, 2014 | Immigration, Legal Services
Catholic Migration Services joins the list of organizations in 24 states and the District of Columbia who will receive nearly $10 million from USCIS for citizenship services
BROOKLYN, NY (November 3, 2014) – Catholic Migration Services (CMS) announced today that it was one of only 40 organizations nationwide chosen to receive a citizenship grant from U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The federal grant is awarded on a highly competitive basis and comes with an award of $250,000 dispersed over a two-year period to fund legal and educational services for lawful permanent residents interested in applying for U.S. citizenship.
Since it began its Citizenship and Integration Grant Program in 2009, USCIS has awarded a total of $43 million to immigrant-serving organizations in 35 states and the District of Columbia, helping more than 93,000 permanent residents prepare for citizenship. Thanks to this grant funding, CMS will expand its existing naturalization legal services, while at the same time its partner and sub-grantee, Brooklyn Public Library, will offer free citizenship instructional courses at several local library branches located throughout the borough.
“We are thrilled and honored to receive this grant from USCIS,” said Rev. Patrick Keating, Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Migration Services. “With this federal funding, and through our partnership with Brooklyn Public Library, we will be able to do so much more to reach the hundreds of thousands of lawful permanent residents that call New York City home. There is a great need for quality citizenship preparation services in this city, and we are very happy to be working toward meeting the needs of our city’s diverse immigrant communities with this program.”
“We are thrilled and honored to receive this grant from USCIS. With this federal funding, we will be able to reach hundreds of thousands of lawful permanent residents that call New York City home,” said Rev. Patrick Keating, CEO of Catholic Migration Services.
If you would like more information about the CMS Citizenship and Integration Program, please visit our website. For information on how to enroll in citizenship courses at Brooklyn Public Libraries or how to receive naturalization application assistance, please call the CMS Citizenship Hotline at (646) 597-8797.
About Catholic Migration Services
Catholic Migration Services (CMS) is a non-profit legal services organization that was established in 1971 by the Most Reverend Francis J. Mugavero to serve the needs of immigrants and refugees in Queens and Brooklyn. Originally operating in a small storefront office as the immigration services arm of the Diocese of Brooklyn, today the organization is a fully independent 501(c)(3) corporation offering a wide range of legal services related to immigration, housing and employment. Since its founding, CMS has served tens of thousands of immigrants—regardless of religion, race or legal status—from at least 167 countries who speak more than 80 languages. For more information about CMS and how to access our legal services, visit us on the web at www.catholicmigration.org.
Acknowledgement of Funding
The services described in this press release are supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Grant Award Number 2014-CS-010-000009. The views and conclusions contained in this press release are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this publication.
Contact
To learn more about the CMS Citizenship Program, please contact:
Zachary Shultz, Naturalization Coordinator
191 Joralemon St, 4th Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Office: (718) 236-3000
Fax: (718) 256-9707
zshultz@catholicmigration.org
by changer | Oct 31, 2014 | Legal Services
On October 28th, community members gathered for the Queens Tenant Monthly Meeting. Over 100 people participated in the event and several CMS partner organizations were present such as the Riis Settlement House, Catholic Charities, Fidelis Health Care, and JASA.
We were joined by two presenters: Joby Thovalil, the campaign organizer from the New Economy Project, spoke in regards to passing legislation that prohibits employers from running a credit check on potential and current employees. Bitta Mostofi, the director of the Municipal ID Outreach Campaign, discussed the new Municipal ID program. This program provides a form of photo identification for every New York City resident, despite immigration status. Residents can apply for a Municipal ID beginning January 1, 2015.
by changer | Oct 29, 2014 | Family Resources
On October 28th 2014 CMS staff Frederik Stefani and Jennifer Park held a workshop at the Institute for Community Living (ICL) Family Resource Center in Brooklyn. CMS staff spoke to a small group of 10 people about various eligibility options for victims of crimes, such as the Violence against Women Act, U and T visas, and Gender-Based asylum. The Institute for Community Living (ICL) Family Resource Center is a community-based service provider that equips parents with the skills and tools to assist children who experience behavioral and emotional problems. CMS is developing our outreach and partnership efforts throughout Brooklyn and Queens to be more accessible to people out in the community.
by changer | Oct 21, 2014 | Legal Services, News, Parish Outreach
CMS is currently conducting outreach for our legal services programs in parishes throughout Brooklyn and Queens. Thus far we have distributed important information and provided consultations to hundreds of parishioners at St. Margaret Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St. Catherine of Alexandria, Sts. Joachim and Anne, St. Joan of Arc, St. Agatha, St. Teresa, Our Lady of Sorrows, St. Leo, Corpus Christi, Blessed Sacrament, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Our Lady of Fatima, St. Helen, St. Sebastian, St. Matthias, Our Lady of the Angelus, St. Rita, and St. Patrick.
We have staff on site ready to assist parishioners and provide information about our housing, immigration, and labor programs. CMS is working to increase accessibility by offering critical legal services to people who may otherwise not have the ability to come into our office during business hours. We will continue to conduct outreach in parishes across Brooklyn and Queens every Sunday through November.
For a full schedule of the churches we will be visiting this fall, please take a look at our Events Calendar!
