Labor Exploitation

Labor exploitation, also known as labor trafficking or forced labor, refers to the practice of using force, fraud, or coercion to exploit individuals for labor or commercial sex. Labor exploitation often occurs in industries such as agriculture, domestic work, and construction, where workers may be vulnerable to abuse due to their immigration status, lack of education, or other factors. Victims of labor exploitation may be forced to work long hours for little or no pay, and may be subject to physical, sexual, or psychological abuse. Governments and organizations around the world are working to combat labor exploitation and protect the rights of workers.

 

 

‘Nearly broke me’: Migrant workers accuse Michigan farm of trafficking, forced labor in suit ⋆ Michigan Advance
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‘Nearly broke me’: Migrant workers accuse Michigan farm of trafficking, forced labor in suit ⋆ Michigan Advance

Photo by Anna Gustafson When Feliciano Velasco Rojas and Luis Guzman Rojas left their homes in Mexico and traveled to North Carolina for work in 2017, they did so to support their families and earn enough money to pay for sick relatives’ medication. Instead, they faced a nightmare situation in which they were trafficked from…

AG Campbell pushes for wariness of child labor exploitation, especially among immigrants
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AG Campbell pushes for wariness of child labor exploitation, especially among immigrants

The arcade chain Dave & Buster’s agreed to pay more than a quarter of a million dollars to resolve allegations that include violation of child labor laws, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced Thursday. Campbell shared the news amid a push from her office to raise awareness about legal protections for young people from…

Ahead of TIP Report, Labor Rights Activists Urge U.S. to Call for Thailand and Taiwan to Protect Migrant Workers and End Forced Labor in Seafood Industry
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Ahead of TIP Report, Labor Rights Activists Urge U.S. to Call for Thailand and Taiwan to Protect Migrant Workers and End Forced Labor in Seafood Industry

WASHINGTON, DC (June 5, 2023) – Greenpeace USA, Global Labor Justice – International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF), and allies in the Seafood Working Group (SWG) today announced their findings of labor rights violations, forced labor, and human trafficking of migrant workers in Thailand and Taiwan and called on the U.S. Department of State to downgrade…

Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan approves draft amendments to the Human Trafficking Prevention Act
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Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan approves draft amendments to the Human Trafficking Prevention Act

On May 19, 2023, Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan passed amendments to the Human Trafficking Prevention Act (人口販運防制法) which aim at tightening punishments for human trafficking and attempted human trafficking. Main points of the amendments are as follows: 1. Sexual Exploitation: Those who use such means of debt bondage or another person’s inability, ignorance, or helplessness to…

Report: More than 340 migrant kids sent to live with nonrelatives who sponsored other kids
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Report: More than 340 migrant kids sent to live with nonrelatives who sponsored other kids

The Biden administration released 344 unaccompanied migrant children to live with nonfamily sponsors hosting three or more unaccompanied kids, says a new Health and Human Services Department audit, raising questions among advocates who worry that some minors are being sponsored by strangers who could exploit them for child labor. The audit, conducted by the agency’s Office…

Report: More than 340 migrant kids sent to live with nonrelatives who were already sponsoring other children
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Report: More than 340 migrant kids sent to live with nonrelatives who were already sponsoring other children

The Biden administration released 344 unaccompanied migrant children to live with nonfamily sponsors who are already hosting at least two other children, says a new Health and Human Services Department audit, raising questions among advocates who worry that some minors are being sponsored by strangers who could exploit them for child labor. The audit, conducted by…

Migrant Children Released into United States by Biden Admin Are Being Put to Work, Lawmakers Say
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Migrant Children Released into United States by Biden Admin Are Being Put to Work, Lawmakers Say

‘Many children are being trafficked and forced to work illegally following their release from federal custody’ Migrants swarm the U.S.-Mexico border following the end of Title 42 / Getty Images Immigrant children trafficked into the United States and released into the country by the Biden administration are being put to work illegally, according to a…

Legal loophole allows child labor exploitation in the U.S.
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Legal loophole allows child labor exploitation in the U.S.

In the U.S., it is legal for children as young as 12 to work unlimited hours outside of school with parental approval if they’re working in agriculture. There are currently around 500,000 children who work in agriculture, planting, picking, and packaging crops. Even children protected by the American Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are at…

Exploitative Child Labor Is Hurting Kids’ Ability to Stay in School
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Exploitative Child Labor Is Hurting Kids’ Ability to Stay in School

When Guatemalan immigrant Jose Velasquez was 13, he began spending his summers working alongside his mother in North Carolina’s tobacco fields. “I worked 10 to 12 hours a day, five days a week in the Goldsboro area,” he told Truthout. “I had to get up at 4:30 am. A rusty van would come by, cram…

Cannabis workers face death and exploitation. California is stepping in after Times investigation
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Cannabis workers face death and exploitation. California is stepping in after Times investigation

WEAVERVILLE, Calif.  — Acknowledging growing concern over the mistreatment of cannabis workers, California regulators have quietly assembled a team to pursue labor exploitation in the state’s burgeoning weed industry. The new unit, housed within the Department of Cannabis Control, recently solicited help from law enforcement agencies statewide to investigate cannabis operators who coerce or threaten workers,…