Migrant Worker Safety, Occupational Health Equity, and Labor Trafficking

Migrants comprise a growing population that is particularly vulnerable to workplace hazards (United Nations Population Division Department of Economic and Social Affairs, n.d.). The dangers imposed upon migrant workers as a whole involve environmental exposures such as temperature extremes, pesticides, and chemicals (Garcia & De Castro, 2016; Spector et al., 2016; Vega-Arroyo et al., 2019; Stoklosa et al., 2020; Hsieh et al., 2016; Fung, 2014). Working conditions impose occupational risks: physical hazards, unregulated safety standards, and workplace abuse (Pannikar et al., 2014; Quandt, Kucera, et al., 2013; Tribble et al., 2016; Marín et al., 2009; Arcury et al., 2014; Liebman et al., 2013; Quandt et al., 2006; Underhill & Rimmer, 2015; Preibisch & Otero, 2014; Murphy et al., 2015; Panikkar et al., 2015; Tsai & Thompson, 2013). These hazards are intrinsic to the inherently dangerous occupations, colloquially known as “3-D jobs” (dirty, dangerous, and demanding), that traditionally employ migrant workers (Quandt, Arcury-Quandt, et al., 2013).

Compared to their non-migrant counterparts, migrant workers are disproportionately more likely to face these occupational hazards due to policy, legal, and political vulnerabilities. Undocumented workers are twice as likely to face minimum wage violations and less likely to formally complain about workplace transgression, especially given the threat of deportation (Bernhardt et al., 2009; Fussell, 2011). Language and cultural barriers increase the likelihood for migrants to experience more hazards in already dangerous occupations due to troubles understanding safety information not offered in the worker’s native or cultural language (Orrenius & Zavodny, 2009; Flynn, 2014; Simon et al., 2015). To make matters worse, migrant workers are also forced to navigate legal structures—such as visa restrictions or familial sponsorship—that systemically predispose recruitment into unsatisfactory employment (Liebman et al., 2013; Preibisch & Otero, 2014; Human Rights Watch, 2008). Amplifying these systemic injustices are changes in the political climate that can perpetuate xenophobia or racism, creating situations for targeted labor exploitation (National Immigrant Law Center, 2009). When accessing medical care, migrant workers face significant barriers such as 1) lack of health insurance and 2) inability to establish transportation or availability when scheduling medical appointments (Preibisch & Otero, 2014; Simon et al., 2015). As a result, although the OSH Act has contributed to reduced overall workplace fatalities by 50% and occupational illness and injury rates by 40%, the Office of Inspector General observed a record number of migrant worker fatalities in 2000, as cited by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Loh & Richardson, 2004). In fact, there have been sizable gaps in OSHA’s investigation of migrant worker fatalities, raising questions regarding enforcement of regulations for foreign-born workers in the US (Office of Inspector General, 2003).

A current example of the repercussions encountered by migrant workers is the heightened risk of COVID-19 disease for workers that occupy an essential, albeit expendable, position (Greenbaum et al., 2020). Without proper infection-prevention measures, social distancing, and working condition regulations, migrant workers face increased susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 transmission (Reid et al., 2021; Handal et al., 2020). Migrant workers’ living situations further increase the likelihood of viral outbreaks as a result of congregate living, lack of PPE, and inadequate access to health care (Reid et al., 2021; Handal et al., 2020). This is compounded by aforementioned barriers that migrants face to identification: lack of awareness by medical professionals, implicit bias about trafficking, lack of regulation, and narrow-spectrum language or cultural services.