NEW YORK, NY November 14, 2006 —Immigrant day laborers in Freehold, New Jersey will be allowed to wait for work on town property. The settlement in the lengthy legal battle could serve as a national precedent. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more.

REPORTER: Under the terms of the compact between the Borough of Freehold and the day laborers, the town will take off the books loitering laws that it tried to use to stop the workers from looking for per diem construction work. Attorney Renee Steinhagen, along with the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund, represented the workers.

STEINHAGEN: It was an acknowledgment, and I applaud the Freehold borough to acknowledge the constitutional rights of Latino residents to use public property for the solicitation of labor and to use residential property on the same terms as other residents regardless of their documentation basis."

REPORTER: The deal was hammered out with the help of a federal mediator. Members of the Freehold Council last night approved it. They also agreed to refund tens of thousands of dollars in fines levied by the town against the day laborers.