Legal Question in Employment Law in Connecticut

Re: Rights of overseas employees

Your rights are the same as those of U.S. citizens. All U.S. and Connecticut human-rights and worker-protection laws apply equally to you.

That doesn't however, mean that you get the bennies you referred to in your e-mail. Connecticut, like most of the rest of the U.S., is an at-will employment state. That means you have to live with the deal you made going in, or vote with your feet and go somewhere else. Just because Susie gets paid 2X and 4 weeks' vacation when you only get X and 2 weeks doesn't mean that you're entitled to a raise and more vacation. As long as the employer is in compliance with the minimum standards set by statute, all you can do is negotiate a better package, live with what you have, or leave.

I don't know any specifics about your situation, so I can't comment on whether the employer is in compliance. As to the illegal documentation issue, two probable results of using that information in a public forum would be the deportation of some of your colleagues and a monetary fine levied against the employer. Whether the threat of disclosure of this information might result in a benefit to you is a matter of conjecture, though my usual reaction to threats of that nature is to find a way to retaliate against the threatener.

Finally, as to your visa status, which I acknowledge makes changing jobs more difficult, all I can do is remind you that you made a deal to come here under a set of circumstances that was acceptable to you at the time you took the job. If you no longer like those circumstances, you certainly have the option of returning home if your status precludes you from switching employers. If you don't want to return home (presumably because your current deal is better than anything going over there), then apply for permanent resident status or U.S. citizenship.