Dustin Saldarriaga is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard College. While a student, he was an active participant in the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic and the Boston Refugee Youth Enrichment Program, both initiatives that advocate on behalf of Boston’s immigrant community. Upon graduating from college, he was a Fulbright Scholar in Uruguay.
After graduating from law school, Mr. Saldarriaga received a prestigious Skadden Fellowship, which enabled him to represent immigrant youth seeking protection in the United States due to persecution motivated by their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. In an effort to connect immigrant youth with legal services, he held office hours in homeless shelters and led trainings at schools, hospitals, and state government agencies.
Mr. Saldarriaga joined the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of the Solicitor as a trial attorney in 2013. There, he litigated matters arising under various federal employment laws, including the Immigration and Naturalization Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, and Occupational Safety and Health Act. As the lead attorney on cases stemming from the Immigration and Naturalization Act, Mr. Saldarriaga recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid wages for workers, including H-1B, H-2A, and H-2B visa holders. Mr. Saldarriaga also co-led litigation against the largest non-chain photo and video store in the United States in a civil rights matter involving alleged discrimination in hiring, compensation, and promotions. Settlement of the case resulted in the payment of more than $3 million in back wages and other monetary relief to more than 1,300 class members.
Most recently, Mr. Saldarriaga was Associate Counsel at the New York City Mayor’s Office. There, he advised the Mayor and his staff on a broad portfolio of legal and administrative matters, including oversight and investigation hearings, regulatory compliance, ethics, and information privacy. Additionally, Mr. Saldarriaga served as the principal legal liaison between City Hall and the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, a role in which he advised on a variety of matters that impact immigrant New Yorkers, including the effect of federal “sanctuary city” policies, litigation of the city’s poll site interpreter program, and the provision of aid to undocumented individuals during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr. Saldarriaga is admitted to practice law in New York and Massachusetts. His native language is English and he is proficient in Spanish.
