What is labor trafficking?
The federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act defines labor trafficking as the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision or obtaining of a person for labor or services using force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, debt bondage, peonage, or slavery. 22 U.S.C.A. §§ 7101,7102; 18 U.S.C.A. § § 1581 et seq.
Does labor trafficking happen in agricultural jobs?
Yes, labor trafficking occurs in agricultural jobs when farmworkers are subjected to forced labor, involuntary servitude, debt bondage, peonage, or slavery using force, fraud, of coercion. Victims of labor trafficking include men, women, children, US citizens, legal permanent residents, H2-A visa holders, and undocumented immigrants. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 63 percent of labor trafficking victims in the United States are Hispanic.
Farmworkers are particularly vulnerable group of workers. According to an article on the U.S. Department of Labor Blog, their susceptibility stems from several factors, including the temporary nature of agricultural work, isolation, and reliance on a single employer for essential needs such as housing, transportation, and immigration status.
Farmworkers are some of the most oppressed workers yet are some of the least likely to report labor rights violations. Over 70% of federal labor standards investigations of farms conducted by the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the US DOL detected violations.
Due to the nature of agriculture work being transient and isolated, unethical employers or contractors exploit these conditions to maintain farmworkers under control. Labor exploitation becomes trafficking when employers use force, fraud, or coercion to make a worker believe they have no other choice but to continue working.
Are you a victim of human trafficking?
The National Human Trafficking Hotline gives examples of these three ways employers exploit workers: by force, fraud, and coercion. Please note these are examples and not an exhaustive list.
Force happens when workers are isolated in migrant camps and rural areas by force; when workers experience physical or sexual abuse; when an employer ignores a worker’s health related injury or illness; when workers are not provided with protections against dehydration or overexposure; when employers restrict workers’ transportation or communication with the outside world.
Fraud happens when workers are given false promises about the job they will be doing (example: workers are told they will be picking tomatoes on a farm but instead are made to drive trucks across the state); when an employer changes a contract or workers’ pay-stubs or withholds paychecks; when workers are charged recruitment fees to come to the US for the job.
Coercion happens when workers are threatened with deportation if they try to stop working or being “blacklisted” from the H2A Guest Worker Program if they complain; when the employer threatens to bring harm to the worker or their families; taking away a worker’s documents, such as passports or ID’s; forcing workers to continue working by telling them they have debts to pay off such as rent, food, tools, or the cost of bringing them to the US.
What can you do if you are a possible victim?
If you or someone you know has experienced human trafficking, help is available.
If you are a farmworker or have worked in agriculture in the last year, call, or message Iowa Legal Aid’s Farmworker Rights Project at 712-577-6377. All our conversations are confidential.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline provides free, confidential help, 24/7. Call: 1-888-373-7888; Text: HELP to 233733 (BEFREE); or Chat: humantraffickinghotline.org/chat.