JAPANESE AMERICAN RAILROAD AND MINE WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES DEEMED POTENTIALLY ELIGIBLE FOR REDRESS PAYMENTS
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Justice Department announced today
that Japanese American railroad and mine workers who were fired
from companies during World War II, and their family members, are
potentially eligible for redress payments under the Civil
Liberties Act of 1988.
The Department's Office of Redress Administration (ORA) has
determined that at least 15 workers who applied for redress were
fired because of an unjustified perception that they posed a
security risk solely because of their Japanese ancestry. ORA
further found that the federal government played a role in the
firings by various companies. This decision is based on years of
research conducted in cooperation with community organizations
which provided historical documents and individuals' statements.
The Civil Liberties Act, signed into law in August 1988,
acknowledges, apologizes, and makes restitution for the
fundamental injustice of the evacuation, relocation, and
internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
"I am pleased that the federal government could come through
for these individuals who suffered these hardships," said Acting
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Bill Lann Lee. "I
hope that this will finally end a tragic period in American
history for these workers and their families."
Hundreds of Japanese immigrants moved to the western states
at the turn of the century and were employed in mines and worked
for the railroads. At least a few hundred persons still worked
for the railroad and mining industries in the late 30's and early
40's. They were employed by a number of companies, including
Union Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Railroad, and
Kenilworth Mines and Copper Consolidated Mining Company.
Generally, in February 1942, the companies fired all Japanese
American workers.
The family members of a dismissed employee are also eligible
under the law as a result of their "constructive relocation."
Generally, the nature of the work in the railroad and mining
industries required that these workers, and their families, move
to, and reside in, locations solely dictated by their employers'
needs. As a result, when the railroad or mine worker was
terminated, job prospects, in what often was a company town, were
nonexistent, and the family was forced to relocate elsewhere to
survive.
At least 15 former employees and 155 family members may be
eligible for redress.
Since the program's inception, ORA has provided $20,000 in
redress to 81,278 eligible claimants. Historical research
suggests that an additional 2,200 individuals may be eligible.
ORA has organized community workshops, spoken to community
groups, and sent out thousands of letters and applications to
locate the remaining redress candidates.
The program has paid out nearly $1.65 billion in reparations
and has approximately $19 million remaining to compensate
additional claimants.
On February 12 Attorney General Janet Reno urged any
Japanese Americans who were interned during World War II to file
claims to seek compensation. The redress program is scheduled to
end on August 10, 1998.
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