Local News | Feds sues Calif contractor, farms in Thai case | Seattle Times Newspaper
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By AMY TAXIN
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -
A federal agency has sued a California-based labor contractor and farms in Washington and Hawaii, claiming the companies discriminated against more than 200 Thai workers in what authorities called the largest human trafficking case in the nation's agriculture industry.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the federal lawsuits Tuesday against Beverly Hills-based Global Horizons Inc. along with six farms in Hawaii and two in Washington.
Global Horizons lured Thai workers to the U.S. between 2003 and 2007 with promises of steady jobs and agricultural visas, then confiscated their passports and threatened to deport them if they complained about conditions, commission officials said.
The workers lived in dilapidated, rat-infested rooms - where many didn't have beds - and were often threatened and abused in the fields, according to the statement.
They also were isolated from non-Thai workers, who were believed to work under different conditions.
"Once they arrived here in the United States, the story of discrimination began," Anna Park, regional attorney for the EEOC in Los Angeles, said Wednesday in a statement announcing the legal action.
The statement called it the largest human trafficking case in agriculture to date but did not elaborate.
Global Horizons could not be immediately reached for comment because the phone numbers listed on its website were not working.
The EEOC is seeking back pay and damages for the workers. Attorneys said they could not estimate how much money was owed and expected the number of workers in the case would increase.
Global Horizons, which recruited Thai workers to come to the U.S. under the federal government's agricultural guest worker program, known as H-2A, subjected workers to intolerable conditions, while the farms turned a blind eye or failed to know about the practices of the contractor, the lawsuit states.
Chanchanit Martorell, executive director of the Thai Community Development Center, said her organization received its first report of abuse from a worker who escaped from a farm in Hawaii in 2003.
More workers came forward with similar claims about different farms that contracted with Global Horizons in different states, she said.
Workers said they had undertaken exorbitant debts in Thailand, with many using their family's land as collateral to guarantee recruitment fees they had to pay in the U.S.
Many workers were not given the jobs or wages they were promised and were forced to endure threats and abuse, Martorell said.
On one Hawaiian farm, workers were so hungry they ate the leaves of plants behind an abandoned schoolhouse where they slept, she said. Workers also were housed in a freight container, where wooden shelves were used as beds, she said.
Martorell said her organization helped workers file claims with the EEOC and secure a special visa intended for trafficking victims. About 1,100 Thai workers were brought into the country by Global Horizons, she said.
Six Global Horizons recruiters and two Thai labor recruiters were previously indicted in federal court in Hawaii on charges of luring 600 workers from Thailand with promises of lucrative jobs before confiscating their passports and failing to honor their labor contracts.
The indictment said workers paid between $9,000 and $26,500 in recruitment fees and worked in a number of states, including Mississippi and Utah.
Supervisors threatened to send the workers back to Thailand when they complained about a lack of work and poor living conditions, knowing many would be afraid to return because of the substantial debts incurred to finance the trip, court papers said.
Defendants cited in the EEOC's lawsuit include Captain Cook Coffee Co., Del Monte Fresh Produce, Kauai Coffee Co., Kelena Farms Inc., Mac Farms of Hawaii and Maui Pineapple Co., all in Hawaii, along with Valley Fruit Orchards of Wapato, Wash., and Green Acre Farms of Harrah, Wash.
Messages left at five of the Hawaiian farms seeking comment were not immediately returned. It was not immediately possible to reach Kelena Farms. John Verbrugge of Valley Fruit and Jim Morford of Green Acre Farms did not immediately return telephone messages seeking comment.
Also on Wednesday, the EEOC announced it had filed a lawsuit in Mississippi against marine services company Signal International alleging 500 Indian welders and pipe-fitters faced discrimination and substandard living conditions in Mississippi and Texas. Signal officials declined to comment on pending litigation.
Both suits come amid a push at the EEOC to focus on human trafficking cases.
By AMY TAXIN
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -
A federal agency has sued a California-based labor contractor and farms in Washington and Hawaii, claiming the companies discriminated against more than 200 Thai workers in what authorities called the largest human trafficking case in the nation's agriculture industry.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the federal lawsuits Tuesday against Beverly Hills-based Global Horizons Inc. along with six farms in Hawaii and two in Washington.
Global Horizons lured Thai workers to the U.S. between 2003 and 2007 with promises of steady jobs and agricultural visas, then confiscated their passports and threatened to deport them if they complained about conditions, commission officials said.
The workers lived in dilapidated, rat-infested rooms - where many didn't have beds - and were often threatened and abused in the fields, according to the statement.
They also were isolated from non-Thai workers, who were believed to work under different conditions.
"Once they arrived here in the United States, the story of discrimination began," Anna Park, regional attorney for the EEOC in Los Angeles, said Wednesday in a statement announcing the legal action.
The statement called it the largest human trafficking case in agriculture to date but did not elaborate.
Global Horizons could not be immediately reached for comment because the phone numbers listed on its website were not working.
The EEOC is seeking back pay and damages for the workers. Attorneys said they could not estimate how much money was owed and expected the number of workers in the case would increase.
Global Horizons, which recruited Thai workers to come to the U.S. under the federal government's agricultural guest worker program, known as H-2A, subjected workers to intolerable conditions, while the farms turned a blind eye or failed to know about the practices of the contractor, the lawsuit states.
Chanchanit Martorell, executive director of the Thai Community Development Center, said her organization received its first report of abuse from a worker who escaped from a farm in Hawaii in 2003.
More workers came forward with similar claims about different farms that contracted with Global Horizons in different states, she said.
Workers said they had undertaken exorbitant debts in Thailand, with many using their family's land as collateral to guarantee recruitment fees they had to pay in the U.S.
Many workers were not given the jobs or wages they were promised and were forced to endure threats and abuse, Martorell said.
On one Hawaiian farm, workers were so hungry they ate the leaves of plants behind an abandoned schoolhouse where they slept, she said. Workers also were housed in a freight container, where wooden shelves were used as beds, she said.
Martorell said her organization helped workers file claims with the EEOC and secure a special visa intended for trafficking victims. About 1,100 Thai workers were brought into the country by Global Horizons, she said.
Six Global Horizons recruiters and two Thai labor recruiters were previously indicted in federal court in Hawaii on charges of luring 600 workers from Thailand with promises of lucrative jobs before confiscating their passports and failing to honor their labor contracts.
The indictment said workers paid between $9,000 and $26,500 in recruitment fees and worked in a number of states, including Mississippi and Utah.
Supervisors threatened to send the workers back to Thailand when they complained about a lack of work and poor living conditions, knowing many would be afraid to return because of the substantial debts incurred to finance the trip, court papers said.
Defendants cited in the EEOC's lawsuit include Captain Cook Coffee Co., Del Monte Fresh Produce, Kauai Coffee Co., Kelena Farms Inc., Mac Farms of Hawaii and Maui Pineapple Co., all in Hawaii, along with Valley Fruit Orchards of Wapato, Wash., and Green Acre Farms of Harrah, Wash.
Messages left at five of the Hawaiian farms seeking comment were not immediately returned. It was not immediately possible to reach Kelena Farms. John Verbrugge of Valley Fruit and Jim Morford of Green Acre Farms did not immediately return telephone messages seeking comment.
Also on Wednesday, the EEOC announced it had filed a lawsuit in Mississippi against marine services company Signal International alleging 500 Indian welders and pipe-fitters faced discrimination and substandard living conditions in Mississippi and Texas. Signal officials declined to comment on pending litigation.
Both suits come amid a push at the EEOC to focus on human trafficking cases.