Why We Care For The Low-Wage Workers

by Dr. Arcelita Imasa

Many of us—or our family members—are low-wage workers.

These workers are often employed in sectors such as domestic care (e.g., caring for patients) and food service (e.g., dishwashing, cooking, or working in kitchens and fast food establishments).

In these jobs, low-wage workers face unique and layered vulnerabilities, especially when they get injured at work.

What happens when a low-wage worker gets hurt on the job?

These types of jobs are typically high-risk for injury but offer little protection when injuries occur.

Low-wage work is often among the most dangerous, involving physical labor, exposure to hazards, repetitive movements, and intense pressure to be productive. These positions frequently lack proper safety training and adequate protective equipment.

For example, a caregiver (certified nursing aide) was once accidentally punched in the face by an agitated elderly patient. In such cases, not only is the worker injured, they may also risk losing their job.

There is widespread underreporting—and fear of reporting—injuries in low-wage jobs. Fear of retaliation is a major barrier. Low-wage workers often choose not to report injuries because they risk losing their jobs.

Many are undocumented or on precarious visas, lack union protection or legal support, and some are even incentivized—or coerced—to work through pain or use sick days instead of filing injury claims.

There are also hurdles related to language, literacy, and legal knowledge. Many low-wage workers are immigrants or have low literacy levels.

Reporting systems, injury documentation, and navigating claims often require legal or bureaucratic literacy that workers may not have easy access to. Employers may mislead or intimidate workers into not filing claims.

Many low-wage workers aren’t even considered “employees” under the law—such as rideshare drivers, day laborers, and domestic workers. They fall through regulatory loopholes that employers exploit to avoid responsibility.

No formal employee status means no injury benefits, no medical coverage, no income replacement, and no legal recourse.

Workers’ compensation systems often exclude low-wage workers. Even when technically eligible, these workers face employer pushback, lack access to legal aid or health care, and are often forced to settle for minimal compensation—if they get any at all.

Too often, workers’ comp is structured more to control costs than to support injured workers’ recovery.

On top of that, structural racism and classism further disadvantage low-wage workers. Many injured low-wage workers are people of color, migrants, or women doing undervalued “essential” labor.

Their injuries are often dismissed as normal or inevitable, rather than signals of a system in need of change. This reinforces a harsh reality: some lives are protected, while others are sacrificed to keep the economy running.

Sometimes, it’s even considered more cost-effective to replace injured workers than to invest in safety or accommodations.

Politically, this mindset is reinforced by weak labor laws, anti-union attitudes, and deregulation. The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare how we treat low-wage workers—and how little protection is actually in place for them.

Want to learn how you can support low-wage workers? Visit bit.ly/hwcsolidarity to connect with the growing movement for worker justice in Hawai‘i!

DR. ARCELITA IMASAis a practicing family physician and the secretary of the Hawaii Workers Center’s Executive Committee of the Board. She grew up in the Philippines before migrating to Hawaii with her family more than a decade ago.