Trafficking & Exploitation of Foreign Workers

1. Trafficking & Exploitation of Foreign Workers A Primer for Regulatory & Tax Authorities

2. The Labor Market • Sweat shops • Cleaning contractors (Businesses & Condos) • Restaurants (fast food to gourmet) • Resort Industry • Agricultural • Construction & Landscaping • Nail Salons

3. Forms of Exploitation • May be economic only: wage & hour, overcrowded housing; • May involve physical or psychological coercion (trafficking); • May involve sexual exploitation; • Could run from short pay to human trafficking (labor and/or commercial sex)

4. Trafficking vs Exploitation • Exploitation is missing one element: Force and Coercion • One may look like the other until you dig deeper • A case may be a mix of both • Easy to confuse • Exploitation may involve related crimes • Exploitation may evolve into trafficking

5. Labor exploitation is primarily a civil – not criminal – matter

6. Economic/Psychological Coercion • Large deposits for rent, job search, etc. • Debt may increase for unreasonable fees (transportation, uniforms, cleaning, etc) • Withholding of Social Security Cards • Threats to call Immigration if employee seeks other employment • Housing contingent on employment

7. The Scheme • Use internet or O/S recruiter • False promises • Worker provided by labor contractor • Contractor sends workers to clients • Contractor gets pay from client, then pays worker • Deductions reduce pay • Keep them in line thru fear, etc.

8. Sources of Victims • Guest workers brought in for work in the tourist/hospitality industry • Most are here with J-1 or H2B Visas • Unknown number undocumented or expired/ineligible visa • Source: Egypt, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, Thailand, EE/FSSU

9. Who Engages in Exploitation? • Middle-men that provide workers to job sites • Organized criminal syndicates with high degree of cooperation across state boundaries • Small businesses with one or two full-time staff • Principles are US-born or in the U.S. with legal status • Occasionally use visa overstays as drivers or supervisors • Foreign-born management often use US “front men” for marketing

10. Southeast Locations

11. Tactics to Control Victims in Florida Panhandle • Beatings--rare • Isolation • Psychological abuses • Display of handguns • Document withholding • Debt bondage • Threats of deportation • Threats against the victim’s family or friends in his/her home country

12. The Trafficking Conundrum • How can they be a slave when they aren’t in chains? • Psychological techniques are as strong as physical chains • Fear is a more powerful motivator than actual pain • Victims may be paid small amounts, but not enough to be independent • Victims may not believe anyone cares

13. Associated Violations • Visa Fraud • Insurance Fraud (Workers Comp Premium) • Mail Fraud (Falsified business filings) • Money Laundering • Alien Smuggling • Harboring Illegals for Financial Gain • Tax Violations • Ordinance Violations, other misdemeanors

14. The “Broken Window” Approach to Stop Trafficking • Attack labor exploitation and trafficking with all legal tools: • Worker’s Comp (Stop Work Orders & Fines) • Enforcing Bed Tax on Rental Properties • Occupational License Violations • Wage & Hour Violations • Subpoena Client Records • Code Violations

15. Housing Model • Company rents house as long-term, single family • Overcrowds house with temporary workers (exceeding codes) • Charges each $200 - $500 per month, usually paid on weekly basis • No “lease” – therefore defaults to rent frequency • Housing contingent on employment

16. Housing /Rent in “Job Offer”

17. Rent deducted from two-week check

18. Living Conditions • May be upscale houses • Usually overcrowded to maximize profit • Hot Bunking

19. Finding the Houses • Out-of-town owners, or company • Degraded appearance • Large # of bicycles • Van traffic • Large trash quantity

23. Victims are there to meet the area’s high labor demand – local market determines the job

24. Lost Tax Revenues, per 100 Seasonal Workers *J-1 Work & Travel Visa Seasons overlap

25. How Many Companies? • The bigger your temp labor needs, the more you will have. • Not just hotels/condos, but any seasonal work that has low pay and low skill: • Fast-food • Tourist retail shops • Restaurants • Grocery Stores

26. How Many Workers? • Conservative estimate 1,000 – 1,500 guest workers (J-1 & H-2 visas) per 10,000 tourist rental units. • (Based on numbers locally documented, will vary based on local labor force and tourist activities)

27. Finding Exploitation • Observation • Landlord Tenant & Disturbance Complaints (Mass Evictions) • Code Enforcement complaints • Canvassing hotels • Talking to maids/servers/bussers • J-1 Program Sponsors • Shoplifting arrest reports

28. Tracing Workers • May be employed by middle-man, or directly employed by site but housed by middle-man • Who does work site call to change schedules, report worker problems, get replacements? • Where does job site send time sheets? • How did they get the workers? • Does job site have a Worker’s Comp certificate on hand? • How do workers get back & forth?

29. Tracing Workers • Workers may be confused about name of company, street address, etc. • Can usually narrow it down to street, type of structure, etc. May have to: • Drive area to spot similar buildings, • Talk to waste haulers about excessive trash locations • Look for unkempt housing, lawns, bicycles, etc. • Talk to neighbors • Follow transport at shift change • Workers may have confided in US peers at work

30. Transportation • Vans • Pick-up Trucks • May be filled over design capacity • Driver may be non-US, with or without license • Spot them at shift-change times, picking up or dropping off at work site • Group of workers waiting for ride, or left without ride

31. Human Sources (Civilian) • Ethnic/Immigrant church groups (trust is an issue) • Neighborhood Watch groups • Hotel General Managers (Caution—will probably notify contractor) • Hotel/Restaurant staff (US co-workers) • Strip club managers • Pizza Delivery drivers

32. Talking to Victims • Engage in conversation…observe demeanor • How does the victim feel about their freedom to leave • Is there a deliberate intent to hold the workers without alternatives thru force or coercion • Note signs of emotional trauma or fear

33. Climate of Fear • Threats of Police Action • Verbally abusive • Denying privacy (room searches, walking in on sleeping women, etc) • Alluding to “Russian Mafia” or “Enforcers” • Threats of deportation • Implied threats (“I was in the Army Rangers and know 100 ways to kill a person”)

34. Summary • Exploitation has high benefit, low risk • Where there is a market for unskilled labor or sex trade, exploitation will exist • Must attack exploitation & trafficking at all levels • Civil labor and housing violations • “Broken Window” theory – go after the small stuff • Education