New York will lower requirements for thousands of jobs to hire immigrants

New York state is considering relaxing employment requirements for thousands of jobs to hire migrants, reports say New York Post.

New York authorities intend to create special temporary jobs that will allow migrants who have received federal work permits to work in the state. State agencies have identified 4000 jobs that could be filled by migrants.

Most of them are “hard-to-fill entry-level positions,” and the plan would allow migrants to bypass requirements such as English language proficiency or proof of education and previous work.

“Governor Hochul has prioritized modernizing the state's workforce and eliminating bureaucracy, and she has implemented a number of reforms to achieve this goal,” a spokeswoman for the governor said in a statement. “This initiative, which has not yet been implemented, will offer temporary employment opportunities available to anyone who can legally work in the United States.”

Ensuring accessibility of workplaces

State Department of Civil Service Commissioner Timothy Hoges stressed that the proposed requirements for migrants are similar to those of existing internship programs and that the relaxed rules would apply to all New Yorkers if accepted.

On the subject: Without money and prospects: how elderly migrants live in New York

“This is no different than our internships, which allow people to upskill or gain time on the job to meet qualification requirements,” Hoges said. “It's just a big part of our comprehensive approach to opening up the government, making jobs accessible and reducing barriers.”

The temporary jobs offered include caring for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, nursing work, food service work, facility maintenance and clerical positions. “The creation of these temporary positions is a win-win way for the State and its agencies to connect qualified and motivated people with meaningful work and opportunities, help resolve the migrant crisis, and rebuild the State's workforce,” the memo concluded.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said state employers are ready to hire migrants for more than 40 job openings, even though the federal work authorization process has been slow. As of November, of the 000 migrants sheltered statewide, only 47 had received work permits.