Power Tool Company Defeats Worker’s Overseas Forced Labor Claims

Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. defeated a lawsuit alleging it benefited from the labor of a worker forced to make gloves featuring the US-based power tool company’s logo while imprisoned in China.

The worker seeks civil remedies under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, but he alleges the forced labor happened overseas, and Congress hasn’t clearly and affirmatively indicated that the relevant portion of the law applies extraterritorially, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin said. The Monday order also dismissed claims against Milwaukee Tool parent Techtronic Industries Co., based in Hong Kong, for lack of personal jurisdiction. ...