Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of someone for the purposes of compelled labor or a commercial sex act through the use of force, fraud, or coercion.  Where a person younger than 18 is induced to perform a commercial sex act, it is a crime regardless of whether there is any force, fraud, or coercion.  Victims can be anyone from around the world or right next door: women and men, adults and children, citizens and noncitizens alike.

 

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) is a national, toll-free hotline available to answer calls from anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year.  The NHTRC is not a law enforcement or immigration authority and is operated by a nongovernmental organization funded by the Federal government. 

Call the following federal government lines for other assistance: 

• U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243) for cases where labor exploitation may be present but does not rise to the threshold of trafficking.
  
• U.S. Department of Labor OIG Hotline at 1-202-693-6999 or 1-800-347-3756, hotline@oig.dol.gov, or http://www.oig.dol.gov/hotlinemain.htm 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to report allegations of trafficking committed through fraud in DOL programs, including, but not limited to, the H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, and PERM.  When filing an OIG Hotline complaint, it is not necessary to provide names or any other identifying information.

Human Trafficking and EEO Law

Anti-discrimination laws enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), particularly those prohibiting discrimination on the bases of race, national origin, and sex, including sexual harassment, are an integral part of the fight against human trafficking. When force, fraud, or coercion are used to compel labor or exploit workers, traffickers and employers may be violating not only criminal laws but also the anti-discrimination laws enforced by the EEOC. Whether or not a criminal trafficking prosecution is pursued in a particular case, civil enforcement and litigation of anti-discrimination laws can be important to vindicating federally protected rights and obtaining remedies for victims.

The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including sexual harassment and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. It is also illegal to discriminate against a person because the person, or someone closely associated with the person, complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. Generally, employers with at least 15 employees are covered by EEOC-enforced laws (20 employees in age discrimination cases). Most labor unions and employment agencies are also covered. The laws apply to all types of work situations, including hiring, firing, promotions, harassment, training, wages, and benefits.

National Origin and Race Discrimination: Trafficking cases often involve discrimination on the basis of national origin or race. Even when employees are legally brought into this country, employers may discriminate on the basis of national origin or race through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. This discrimination may include harassment and setting different terms and conditions of employment. It also may include retaliation against workers for exercising their rights under the anti-discrimination laws by threatening them with or subjecting them to suspension from work, deportation, physical harm, or fraud. In trafficking cases, it is not unusual for employers to maintain segregated jobs, pay unequal wages, or deduct unreasonable amounts from paychecks in these situations.

Sexual Harassment: Many labor trafficking cases involve sexual exploitation. Trafficked women are sometimes sexually assaulted or subjected to other severe sexual harassment. The EEOC is the federal agency charged with preventing, investigating and remedying sex discrimination, including sexual harassment. The EEOC has experience investigating and litigating sexual harassment cases generally, including cases brought on behalf of immigrant women workers.