labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The Trans Bay Steel, Inc. of Napa and Los Angeles, California was fined $1 million for slavery and human trafficking. In the suit, the EEOC alleged that 48 Thai welders were exploited and discriminated against due to their national origin. The EEOC took the allegations one step farther, arguing that Trans Bay was actually guilty of slavery and human trafficking. Eventually, the judge agreed.

Sadly, a number of companies have been accused of discrimination recently—but few have been charged with slavery or human trafficking. When the EEOC receives a complaint of discrimination, they launch a full investigation. Only if the investigation turns up evidence of wrongdoing, does the EEOC file a suit. Not surprisingly, most companies choose to settle out of court, rather than fight the lawsuit.

Officials at Trans Bay probably wish that they had settled with the EEOC, but they fought the charges…and lost.

Trans Bay had obtained H2B visas for the employees through a third party agency. The EEOC charged that the employees were held against their will. Their passports were confiscated and their movements were restricted. The employees were forced to work without pay. In addition, some were confined to cramped apartments without electricity, water or gas.

At least 17 of the workers were told that if they attempted to leave, the police and immigration officials would arrest them. The EEOC contends that all the workers were forced to pay enormous fees to the recruiting company, which effectively kept them in involuntary servitude.

Eventually some of the workers escaped the slave-like conditions and were able to alert authorities.

The men were working to retrofit the Bay Bridge under a sub-contract won by Trans Bay, Inc. Trans Bay contracted with Kota Manpower Co. to bring skilled workers from Thailand. Eventually, 9 of the 48 workers were employed by Trans Bay. The remaining workers were forced to work without pay in Los Angles and Long Beach, in Thai restaurants owned by Kota Manpower. Some were also forced to work other menial jobs without pay.

“The issues of human trafficking and slavery are an enforcement priority for the Commission,” said Anna Y. Park, Regional Attorney in EEOC’s Los Angeles District Office, which has jurisdiction for the southern half of California. “The EEOC is committed to the protection of all workers, particularly those most vulnerable in our society. The workers in this case sought out the American dream, but instead faced a nightmare.”

After an extensive investigation, the EEOC won the suit against Trans Bay and was awarded up to $1 million. This award includes a monetary payment to each worker, with guaranteed employment on the Bay Bridge Project.  The company also agreed to provide a housing stipend for workers.

In one of the most comprehensive awards in recent history, the company is required to pay the workers relocation expenses to Napa, California. They will also train and certify the workers as welders.

The company will also pay for tuition and books at a local college for the unskilled workers to train as welders. The company agreed to guarantee minimum pay and a base pay once the claimants complete their training period.

The judgment for the U.S. EEOC vs. Trans Bay Steel, Inc. includes continued monitoring by the EEOC, training of Trans Bay employees on anti-discrimination laws, changes to Trans Bay’s policies and procedures, and developing a company-wide complaint procedure.

EEOC Los Angeles District Director Olophius E. Perry said, “Through the cooperative efforts between the federal government and non-profit organizations, a just resolution was reached that is a win/win for the workers and for the employer.”

The EEOC worked closely with non-profit organizations such as the Thai Community Development Center, the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, and the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.

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In California, the state labor law on new employee hire reporting has set up what is called the New Employee Registry. This is a simple list that the state uses to compare their information against the National Directory of New Hires, in order to catch parents who are running from their child support payment.

Here’s an interesting fact for why the labor law must be set up this way— about one in three parents who do not pay their child support payments do not live in the same state as their child. Hence, there is this need to cross compare all of the new hire information coming from all of the states, thanks to the federal change in the employee hiring labor law.

The labor law in California also makes it required, since the start of 2001, that employers and government agencies report information on the independent contractors that they hire too. That way, they are using an even finer tooth comb to track parents who aren’t making payments, via the New Employee Registry.

As with other states that follow the general guidelines set up by the federal labor law, the California new hire reporting regulations require that employers send in the information on their new hires within 20 days. But California makes it so it is 20 days after the actual start of work of the employee, meaning the first day that the employee actually starts work, compared with the day that the person was hired.

Under the Cali labor law, you can also choose which state to report all of your new hires in if you are a multistate employer. In that case, you can report all your new employees—no matter what state they are hired in—to just one state that you have an office in. That makes it easier on your human resource administrators to get all of the new hire forms together.

HR compliance is more important than ever, with recent news that the U.S. Department of Labor filed suit against a Houston employer for not keeping adequate records of employee time worked, including weekly time sheets. U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao wants to send a clear message to employers that violations of labor rights will not be tolerated.

“To protect workers, last year the department deployed additional investigators to the Gulf Coast region to better ensure that employers fully comply with wage and hour laws,” said US Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao. “This legal action is among our many efforts on behalf of these workers who are doing vital work for the Gulf Coast region’s recovery and who deserve and are entitled to receive all the wages they have earned.”

While busy employers may think of HR compliance as a minor matter, to the Department of Labor, violations are a serious offense. The recent suit filed by the U.S. Labor Department confirms Secretary Chao’s caution against employers who violate labor rights. The suit, to recover over $500,000 in back wages for employees working on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, alleges that the employer committed violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) filed the suit against a Houston drywall firm for violating the labor rights of employees. Specifically, the employer misclassified employees as independent contractors, in order to avoid overtime payments mandated under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA).

The drywall company performed on contracts for reconstruction along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The WHD investigation of the Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino contract in Biloxi, Miss. and other worksites, found that the company owner regularly misclassified employees as independent contractors and failed to pay them the additional half time overtime premium for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The company also failed to maintain accurate records of employees’ wages and hours of work.

The California (CA) Department of Human Resources is a key player to all of us that live in this big and beautiful state. It is that due to its role in the work place. Business owners need to work with this department to insure employee safety and worker’s needs are met. Employees may need to turn to this department for aid in providing unemployment, veteran’s assistance as well as much more. In fact, those of us that do not realize what the Department of Labor in California does are going to need a bit of help managing through the work place. They could be missing out.

In addition to providing a wealth of programs, the California Department of Human Resources also provides a great deal of help in the way of providing information about our state. This is a nice bit of information as it helps us to see just where we stand in comparison to other states.

One thing that is commonly looked at is the unemployment rate. This rate is not just a flat rate that tells us how many people are unemployed, but it helps to gauge the way that the economy is flowing. The department let out some new records recently for the month of July 2006. The state’s unemployment rate is at 4.9 percent which is down just slightly from the 5 percent that it was a month earlier. It is still up a bit over the national average of 4.8 percent. You can see how this shows us that the state of California is doing well in comparison to the rest of the country if a bit over here.

The California Department of Human Resources allows just about any of us to learn more about our state. If you need to know about the minimum wage here, simply contact them. For the record, it is set at $6.75 in most of the state, but is $8.50 in Sacramento.