Exploited Domestic Worker May Sue Consular Employer

Mike Liu

A federal court has ruled that a domestic worker employed by a South Korean consular official and his wife may sue her employers. Ms. Tae Sook Park sued her employer last year for failing to pay her the minimum wage and overtime. She was forced to work under slave-like conditions. Her case was complicated by the fact that her employer was a Deputy Consul General of Korea and he claimed diplomatic immunity. When the case first went to court, the court ruled that Ms. Park could not sue for her wages or overtime, but that decision has just been overturned.

The Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates (KIWA) in Los Angeles and the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco, have been supporting Ms. Park and building support for the case (see previous article). Joannie Chang of the Asian Law Caucus noted that, “Labor exploitation is both the purpose and the underlying foundation for the international trafficking of workers and a growing problem in the U.S..”