The building “super” industry, known as janitorial or porter staff and largely comprised of Latino immigrant workers, is rife with abuses such as overworking and underpaying workers, often in violation of local, state, and federal labor laws. Mel González, Director of NYLAG’s Employment Law Project, spoke with Documented about some of our clients’ experiences and the legal intricacies of achieving justice:
Janitors — commonly called “supers” — are defined as workers who live in the buildings they service and are paid a fixed amount of $10 per unit. They are also provided with an apartment, free of charge, in the building they service, said Mel González, project director, employment law project at the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), the organization representing Mejia in the lawsuit. Those who do not live in the building are known as “porters,” explains González.
González said building owners and managers often pay janitorial workers on a weekly basis, extracting as much work as possible from the workers. Because the law limits their earnings at $10 per unit, the supers end up making less than the minimum wage required by the State of New York and the Federal government.
Like Mejia, González said that other clients have claims of working more than 40 hours per week, sometimes even 20 hours in a single day. He said the janitorial work’s demands often lead to excessive overtime, which requires workers to be available to answer tenants’ requests…
“Landlords like to deny that supers are working all the time, even though we know from experience … supers are basically on call all the time.” It is unclear if supers qualify for sick leave and paid family leave, he added. “They can also be evicted from their apartments as soon as they are fired,” González added.
Read the full piece published in Documented on March 4, 2025, and published in Spanish on March 12.
