Staffing agencies charged with immigrant labor abuses for asbestos workers
Two staffing agencies – Cumberland Environmental Resources Co. of Nashville, Tennessee and Accent Personnel Services of Baton Rouge, Louisiana – have been charged with abusing H-2B guest workers and discriminating against U.S. citizens. The alleged abuses including charging thousands of dollars in recruitment fees to immigrants from Peru and El Salvador, forcing them to work with hazardous substances like asbestos and lead, paying them less money than promised, forcing them to pay for classes in lead and asbestos abatement, and charging them rent to sleep six or seven men to an apartment where they slept on the floor. The immigrants were told they were going to be performing general labor and construction jobs, but were instead forced to work with lead and asbestos. After waiting for weeks to be put to work and not being paid in compliance with federal law, the workers were fired if they complained.
In addition to the labor abuses, the two staffing agencies are also accused of falsifying documents to obtain visas for the workers and falsely claiming that U.S. citizens were unavailable to perform the work, since citizens are harder to abuse and exploit. The 14 plaintiffs include six men from El Salvador, three men from Peru and five U.S. citizens. They are demanding punitive damages for labor violations, fraud, breach of contract, consumer law violations and RICO violations.
For the full story, go to Courthouse News Service.
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