Assistant Speaker Pro Tem Kevin Mullin (D-San Mateo County) strengthened human rights protections for immigrants with the passage of legislation (AB 524) that was signed by the Governor Brown. It guarantees that a person’s immigration status cannot be threatened if they report unfair or illegal working conditions. This new law will take effect on January 1, 2014. To help explain the importance of this legislation to one quarter of our nation’s immigrants, Jose Mejia of the California Council of Laborers explained, “In many low-wage occupations and industries, vulnerable immigrants cannot exercise their labor rights or speak out against unfair or illegal working conditions without the fear of retaliation.” In Mullin’s own words, “AB 524 is a major step toward improving job quality in the low-wage jobs that fuel our state's economy and removes the ability of employers to use immigrant status for retaliation or other unlawful purposes.”