Ad Firms Get Qatar World Cup Worker Forced Labor Row Trimmed (2)

Omnicom Group Inc., Ogilvy Group LLC, and related entities whose work allegedly enabled labor trafficking surrounding Qatar’s FIFA World Cup facilities convinced a judge to toss portions of the workers’ lawsuit.

More than 100 construction workers allege five public relations and lobbying entities’ “sportswashing” work for the Qatari government made possible the abuse they suffered. But they didn’t sufficiently allege Omnicom participated in the World Cup labor venture, and some of their other allegations “involve impermissible extraterritorial applications” of federal trafficking law, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York said Tuesday.

The workers can ...