Are you looking for a forced labor trafficking lawyer in Columbia?
At TGH Litigation, we are Columbia forced labor trafficking lawyers committed to thorough preparation in every matter we handle.
If you were made to work in Columbia without fair pay and were kept on the job through threats against you or your family, a civil lawsuit can recover what you are owed. Federal law allows survivors to pursue these claims even if no one has been charged with a crime.
Our attorneys have more than 80 years of combined legal experience, much of it in wage, employment, and civil rights litigation. A Columbia, MO forced labor trafficking lawyer at our firm offers a free consultation to review your situation. You can reach our Columbia office to arrange a meeting at a convenient time.
Forced Labor Trafficking Lawyer Columbia
In Boone County, 6.4 percent of residents were born outside the United States and 9.1 percent speak a language other than English at home, according to Census Bureau data. Employers who traffic workers frequently exploit limited English or uncertain immigration status, which makes immigration protections a central part of many forced labor cases in this area.
A forced labor trafficking attorney brings a civil case on behalf of a person who was compelled to work through force, fraud, or coercion. The case seeks money from those responsible: the wages the survivor earned but never received, compensation for the harm caused, and in some cases punitive damages. From our office on North Eighth Street in Columbia, we represent workers in Boone County and the surrounding counties who were forced to labor for someone else’s profit. A civil claim also proceeds on its own schedule, separate from any decision a prosecutor makes about criminal charges.
Types of Forced Labor Trafficking Cases We Handle in Columbia
Forced labor appears in ordinary workplaces as well as private homes. Our forced labor attorneys in Columbia represent survivors from a range of industries and living situations.
- Janitorial and commercial cleaning crews. Overnight cleaning crews often work in isolation, with pay handled through a crew leader rather than the business that hired the service. We examine whether the crew leader withheld wages and used threats to keep workers in place.
- Home health and elder care work. Caregivers who live with or travel between clients can be cut off from outside contact. We pursue claims when an agency or family withholds pay and prevents a caregiver from leaving.
- Food processing and food service. Long shifts, employer-arranged housing, and pay deducted for meals or lodging can combine to leave workers with nothing. We document the hours worked and the deductions taken.
- Landscaping and seasonal outdoor work. Seasonal crews are frequently transported and housed by a single supervisor. That control becomes the basis of a claim when it is used to prevent workers from leaving.
- Health and beauty service work. Salon and spa workers may be required to live on site or surrender their earnings to an owner. These arrangements can amount to forced labor when threats enforce them.
- Live-in childcare arrangements. Nannies and au pairs who reside with a family depend on that family for housing and food. Withheld pay combined with restrictions on movement can support a civil claim.
- Coercion through threats to family. Some traffickers threaten harm to a worker’s relatives in another country. We treat those threats as evidence of coercion, even when the worker was never physically restrained.
- Sexual harassment. Workers held in forced labor are often subjected to unwanted advances or sexual abuse by supervisors. A harassment claim can be brought together with the trafficking claim.
- Employment discrimination. Employers who single out workers of one national origin for unequal pay and treatment may be liable for discrimination as well as trafficking.
- Whistleblower. Firing, eviction, or threats against a worker who reported unlawful conditions can support a separate retaliation claim against the employer.
Why Choose TGH Litigation as my Forced Labor Trafficking Lawyer in Columbia, MO?
Wage and Civil Rights Litigation Experience
Joanna Trachtenberg supervised a group of attorneys in the Civil Litigation Division of the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, where she defended the State in employment discrimination, civil rights, and constitutional cases and tried cases in federal and state courts throughout Missouri. Earlier in her career, she worked on wage and hour litigation in New York, experience that applies directly to calculating the full value of a survivor’s unpaid labor. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a master’s degree in women’s studies with first class honors.
Julianne Germinder has made Columbia her home since 2009 and brings extensive jury trial experience. J. Andrew Hirth has taught constitutional law at the University of Missouri School of Law.
A Columbia Practice Focused on the Full Value of Your Claim
Our main office is in downtown Columbia, a short distance from the Boone County Courthouse, and our forced labor trafficking attorneys in Columbia handle these cases from start to finish. A survivor’s recovery should account for every hour worked, every improper deduction, and the harm caused by the coercion itself. As an employment lawyer in Columbia, MO, we also review any overtime or wage claims that arise from the same situation. Our firm has obtained recoveries in the millions of dollars for clients across Missouri.
What Is Important To Understand About Forced Labor Trafficking Cases?
Coercion, Unpaid Labor, and Damages in Forced Labor Cases
A forced labor claim generally requires proof of how the survivor was compelled to work and what the survivor lost as a result.
- Coercion may involve threats of physical harm, threats of deportation, threats against family members, or a pattern of conduct intended to make leaving seem impossible.
- Fraud includes false promises about wages, working conditions, or legal status made to obtain or keep a worker’s labor.
- Unpaid labor is measured by the hours the survivor actually worked and the pay those hours should have earned.
- Federal law permits survivors to recover damages and reasonable attorney’s fees under Title 18, Section 1595, including from those who knowingly profited from the venture.
- Missouri’s trafficking victim statute permits actual damages, court costs, reasonable attorney’s fees, and punitive damages against a defendant who was convicted of, or pled guilty to, a trafficking offense.
What Is The Forced Labor Trafficking Case Timeline?
The timeline depends heavily on whether a criminal investigation is underway, because a federal civil claim is placed on hold until any related criminal case ends.
- An initial consultation identifies the people and businesses involved and any immediate concerns about safety or immigration status.
- Our firm gathers records of the work performed, the housing provided, and any payments or deductions.
- The lawsuit is filed in state or federal court. Under federal law, survivors have 10 years from the date the claim arose, or 10 years from their 18th birthday if they were minors. Missouri’s 10-year period runs from the latest of three events: the final order in the criminal case, emancipation from the defendant, or the survivor’s 18th birthday.
- The parties exchange evidence and take depositions.
- The case concludes through settlement, mediation, or trial, which can take a year or more from filing.
Related discrimination claims follow far shorter discrimination filing deadlines, so those claims should be evaluated at the outset.
What Should You Bring to Your Forced Labor Trafficking Consultation?
Records that show what you were promised and what you actually received are especially useful. Bring any of these you can safely obtain.
- Pay information: cash receipts, money transfer records, pay stubs, or your own record of hours
- Communications: text messages or voicemails from the employer, crew leader, or recruiter
- Housing details: the address where you were required to live and any charges for rent or meals
- Identity documents: your passport or visa, or a written description of documents someone else kept
- Immigration filings: any paperwork from USCIS or an immigration attorney
During the consultation, a Columbia forced labor lawyer will identify every source of recovery available to you, including unpaid wages, and tell you honestly if the facts do not support a lawsuit. There is no charge for the consultation.
What Are Important Aspects of a Forced Labor Trafficking Case?
Immigration protections often matter as much to a survivor as the lawsuit itself. Many survivors qualify for a T visa, and T visa holders may later become eligible for permanent residence. The civil case should be planned so it supports, rather than complicates, any immigration application handled by immigration counsel.
Foreign national survivors may also qualify for federal benefits through a certification letter issued by the Office on Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Confidentiality remains a priority throughout the case, particularly when a survivor fears retaliation against family members.
Sexual abuse is common in forced labor situations, and survivors may be entitled to the categories of sexual harassment damages that Missouri and federal law provide. Some workers also face demands to repay the cost of their training before they may leave, and training repayment provisions of that kind receive careful review when they are used to hold a worker in place.
Boone County Courts and Local Resources for Labor Trafficking Survivors
State claims arising in Columbia are filed in the 13th Judicial Circuit, which serves Boone and Callaway Counties from the Boone County Courthouse at 705 East Walnut Street. Federal claims from Boone County are heard in the Central Division of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
The City of Columbia accepts complaints of employment discrimination, including discrimination based on national origin, through its Human Rights Commission process. Complaints are currently submitted by mail, email, or phone to the City of Columbia Law Department.
Reach Out to TGH Litigation to Schedule a Consultation
Contact us to request a confidential review of your situation by a forced labor trafficking lawyer in Columbia, MO. The consultation is free, and we will explain your potential claims and the steps involved in pursuing them. Our call line operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and what you tell us remains confidential.