José Ginarte came to the United States while he was still an adolescent. Along with his mother Yolanda, his father Orlando, and his brothers he came to live in Elizabeth, NJ. Shortly after, his parents found a job: his mom as a seamstress and his dad as a construction site worker.

Soon after, Ginarte decided to join his dad in construction work to help contribute with the family income. The reality of the immigrant worker devastated him: over time hours were not paid for, they received no benefits, including medical insurance and if they ran the unfortunate luck of getting injured, the employer usually found a way not to be responsible. “Construction work is very hard and on top of that you have to endure abuse and discrimination, it is like not having rights,” he affirmed.

And his family was no exception. His father suffered an accident with a saw that left him unable to work for several months. “As the oldest son I had to fight with the insurance company and the employer so that they paid my father what was corresponded to him. It was very difficult living with the impact that the situation had on my family,” Ginarte remembers.

However, these are the exact difficulties that tend to be determinants and this is what happened to Ginarte. He always dreamed of becoming a lawyer but the experiences that he lived with his father confirmed his path to his true calling: defending those rights to immigrant workers.

In 1982 and after he graduated with high honors from the University of Kean, Ginarte opened his first office. Three decades later the Ginarte Law Firm counts with seven offices in the New York & New Jersey area, more than 150 employees, and dozens of recommendations and honors, more than 170,000 cases taken, from which many have been resolved, reaching monetary amounts of seven figures.

“I feel very proud to have been able to help those who needed it and who deserved to be compensated for the negligence of others.” One of the cases that have marked Ginarte, is one of an undocumented Latino worker who fell from a roof and was left quadriplegic. Aside from, various months of hospitalization, the medical center initiated a process of deportation. Ginarte took the case to federal court and not only achieved to avoid the deportation, but also obtained the employer benefits, who up to that point had not made themselves responsible for the accident.

“It’s been now 35 years of work and effort, and I want to thank everyone who has formed part of the Ginarte legal team, for your dedication and compassion. Also, I want to thank my family and above all, God, who has permitted me every day to do what I love, help our people.”