Detainee Forced Work Class Action Lawsuit Gets Certified

A proposed Class of detainees allegedly paid only $1 per day for work performed at detention facilities was certified by a federal judge.

The detainee forced work class action lawsuit claimed that GEO Group, a private prison company, failed to appropriately compensate those in their detention facilities.

The plaintiffs alleged in their class action lawsuit that immigrants were forced to work for very low or even no pay as a part of prison work programs.

According to the detainee forced work class action lawsuit, GEO Group’s prison work programs, applied to detained immigrants, violate state employment laws.

The GEO Group pushed back against the detainee forced work class action lawsuit, arguing the proposed Class should not be certified by the Washington federal court.

The GEO Group argued that since the lead plaintiffs do not have “work authorization” in the United States, they are unemployable and unable to represent the proposed Class.

The defendant further stated that the proposed Class in the detainee forced work class action lawsuit should not be certified because the state laws the plaintiffs are claiming the prison company violated are preempted by federal laws.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert Bryan rejected the GEO Group’s arguments and noted in his order certifying the Class that a class action lawsuit seemed to be the most appropriate avenue to litigate the detainee’s forced work allegations.

“Plaintiffs’ claims are typical of the claims of the class, because the claims arise from evidence pointing to a common course of conduct, that is, participation in the [prison work program] at the Northwest Detention Center, and the same alleged injury, that is, compensation at $1 per day of work, an amount not commensurate with the [minimum wage],” pointed out the order certifying the proposed Class in the detainee forced work class action lawsuit.

Judge Bryan disagreed with the GEO Group’s contention that the state law claims in the detainee forced work class action lawsuit are preempted by federal law.

The GEO Group claimed that it has sovereign immunity because it is a contractor with the federal government, noted the judge. However, the terms of this agreement need to be worked out on the merits, stated the judge in his order.

Further, the GEO Group will have to show that the federal government specifically allowed the company to limit detainee wages to $1, noted the judge.

This is not the first detainee forced pay class action lawsuit to hit the GEO Group. In 2014, a similar class action was filed against the private prison company in Colorado. The class action lawsuit allege that immigrants detained in the custody of facilities run by the GEO Group are forced to work in menial jobs, like cleaning, laundry, and cooking, for $1 a day or less.

The lead plaintiffs and proposed Class are represented by Adam J. Berger, Lindsay L. Halm and Jamal N. Whitehead of Schroeter Goldmark & Bender, Andrew Free of the Law Office of R. Andrew Free, Devin T. Theriot-Orr of Sunbird Law PLLC and Meena Menter of Menter Immigration Law PLLC.

The Detainee Forced Work Class Action Lawsuit is Nwauzor, et al. v. The GEO Group Inc., Case No. 3:17-cv-05769, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.