Tennessee Guestworker Lawsuit Alleges Landscaping Company Violated Labor Laws

RALEIGH, N.C.—A landscaping company based in Mason, Tenn., violated federal wage and hour and anti-discrimination laws and engaged in unlawful forced labor of Mexican H-2B guestworkers, a group of former employees alleged in a lawsuit filed March 24 (Jimenez v. Vanderbilt Landscaping LLC).

According to the complaint, filed on behalf of 15 Mexican nationals in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Vanderbilt Landscaping LLC paid the workers less than required by law, subjected them to constant surveillance and threats, and forced them to pay rent in “overcrowded” and “unsafe” housing. Workers had their passports ...