Immigration Detainees Can Bring Forced Labor Claims

A group of current and former detainees at a private, for-profit immigration detention facility can proceed with their forced labor claims under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, a federal judge in Colorado ruled July 6 (Menocal v. GEO Grp., Inc., 2015 BL 216690, D. Colo., 1:14-cv-02887, 7/6/15).

Although the detainees aren’t “employees” entitled to the minimum wage under the Colorado Minimum Wage Order, Judge John L. Kane of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado found that the language of the TVPA is broad enough to reach immigration detainees who allegedly were required to clean ...