Q. MY employer brought me to America to work as live-in nanny for their youngest child. I would be paid $1,000 per month with weekends off. When we arrived in Los Angeles, my employer took my passport. At their home, I work 7 days a week, 14 to 16 hours per day. I take care of an infant and also cook, clean, and laundry for the entire family. I am not allowed to leave the house without my employer. After working for a month, I was paid $300, not the $1,000 that was promised. My employer said I needed to pay them back for the plane ticket coming here. I have worked for them for over a year now and I am still being paid $300. When I complained, my employer told me I was lucky that I have free room and food. I was then told that if I leave, I will be deported because my visa is expired. What should I do?
A: Call the police. Or have someone call the police for you. It is better to ask law enforcement for help because what is being done to you may not only be illegal but also criminal. You may be a victim of human trafficking, specifically, labor trafficking.
Human trafficking is obtaining labor by the use of force, fraud or coercion in order to subject a person to involuntary servitude or slavery. Human trafficking is a criminal. However, the laws also allow the victims to obtain civil remedies (i.e., money) against the traffickers.
Why should victims care about civil remedies? Because restitution in criminal proceedings is often not enough to compensate a victim for all their damages. Victims of labor trafficking may be paid only the equivalent of wages owed to them. But what about the victim’s physical or emotional injuries while living under the control of the trafficker? For these types of injuries, only civil remedies are available.
For instance, California allows trafficking victims to sue their so-called “employers” for “forced labor,” which means labor or services obtained or maintained through force, fraud, or coercion. Trafficking victims are entitled to:
Actual damages (proper wages owed under California law, including overtime pay, interest, and penalties)
– Damages for emotional distress
– Treble damages (which means the victim’s actual damages multiplied by three)
– Punitive damages
– Attorneys fees
Thus, while they continue to cooperate with law enforcement and other government agencies regarding their situation, it is also equally important for victims of trafficking or forced labor to consult with an experienced employment attorney to help them obtain all available civil remedies against their traffickers.
Victims of trafficking do not have to be foreign nationals, they could be American citizens or residents. They do not have to travel, be transported, or moved across state or national borders. Even without transportation, persons who are compelled by force, fraud, or coercion to provide labor or services are still victims of labor trafficking.
Trafficking victims do not have to be physically restrained (or locked up) by the “employer.” Trafficking victims may be able to go outside the home of the “employer” but the “employer” still maintains psychological control over the victim by threats of harm to the victim or the victim’s family, or threats of being arrested by police or of being deported.
According to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, there is no single profile for trafficking victims – they could be adults and minors in rural, with diverse socio-economic backgrounds, varied levels of education, and may be documented or undocumented. They are made to work against their will in business settings as well as underground markets. The following are industries where labor trafficking has been found: domestic work, care home work, restaurants, construction, agriculture, manufacturing, and retail.
Next week, we will discuss some real-life cases of human trafficking.
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The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are confidential and at no-cost. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit www.joesayaslaw.com.
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C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is an experienced trial attorney who has successfully obtained significant recoveries for thousands of employees and consumers. He is named Top Labor & Employment Attorney in California by the Daily Journal, consistently selected as Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, and is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum.