Press Release: “Unconscionable” Debt-for-Training Scheme Funnels Low-Wage Tech Workers to Fortune 500 Companies; Groundbreaking Class-Action Lawsuit Seeks to Void Training Repayment Agreement Provisions

New Lawsuit: Tech Training Bootcamp Smoothstack Engineered Modern-Day Indentured Servitude, Using TRAPs to Let Public Companies Like Accenture, Verizon, and CapitalOne Exploit IT Workers  April 14, 2023 | WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last night, a former employee filed a class-action lawsuit against a tech-training and employee-staffing agency, Smoothstack, Inc. (Smoothstack). This new lawsuit alleges that Smoothstack … Continued

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Press Release: Proposed Class of Sheepherders Vindicated in Suit Against Western Range Association

Last week, a federal district court in the District of Nevada ruled in favor of a proposed class of migrant sheepherders who allege that an association of sheep ranches has colluded to suppress their wages and restrict their ability to seek out jobs where they would receive better treatment. The order is a major victory … Continued

News Press Releases Exploitation of Immigrants and Guestworkers

Workers and Faith and Civic Leaders Participated in Colorado’s 2nd Annual Interfaith Labor Seder

This year’s Honorees were Amie Baca-Oehlert, President of the Colorado Education Association & David Seligman, Executive Director of Towards Justice, for their Work as Local Champions of the Labor Movement  DENVER – Tonight, March 20th, at Colorado’s 2nd Annual Interfaith Labor Seder, local workers and leaders came together for the event to weave in the stories … Continued

Event News

Press Release: United in Opposition to the Kroger-Albertsons Merger, Coalition of Over 100 Organizations from Across the Country Join Forces & Launch the “Stop the Merger” Website

The Stop the Merger Coalition includes national, state and local organizations from across U.S. WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 14, 2023) – Today, a coalition of 100 organizations representing diverse interests from around the country have joined forces in the “Stop the Merger” campaign, a national and state-level effort to oppose the proposed $25-billion merger of grocery … Continued

News Press Releases Policy Advocacy

Press Release: Worker and consumer advocates issue call for regulation of attorneys who draft the fine print

Advocates Urge COPRAC to Move Swiftly on Critical Ethics Opinion Worker and consumer rights advocates from California and across the country call on the California attorney regulation agency to act quickly to clarify that it is unethical for attorneys to encourage corporate clients to include illegal or unenforceable terms in fine-print contracts. On Friday, a … Continued

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Press Release: Federal Judge Halts Weaponized Arbitration Proceeding Involving Employer-Driver Debt

Arbitration threatened worker, a nurse from the Philippines, with tens of thousands of dollars of debt as punishment for leaving his job   On Friday, a federal judge in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction halting an arbitration proceeding brought by a healthcare staffing company called … Continued

News Press Releases Abuses of Corporate Power

Press Release: Victory in Forced Labor Suit Against Lackawanna County

Court of Appeals Issues Victory to Civil Debtors Alleging Forced Labor and Wage Theft Claims Against Lackawanna County and Related Entities  Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reinstated forced labor, wage theft, and racketeering claims brought by people who were civilly detained for child support debts and who allege they … Continued

News Press Releases Forced Labor and Trafficking Wage Theft / Misclassification

Press Release: Telluride hotel and labor recruiter sued in lawsuit alleging wage theft and trafficking

Proposed class action filed against labor recruiter and luxury Telluride hotel alleging rampant wage theft, unlawful retaliation, labor trafficking, and breach of contract  For Immediate Release Press Contact: Natasha Viteri, [email protected], (720) 882-5142 (hablo español) Denver, Colorado — Yesterday, a group of former housekeepers at the luxury Madeline Hotel and Residences in Telluride, Colorado filed a proposed … Continued

News Press Releases Exploitation of Immigrants and Guestworkers Wage Theft / Misclassification

Class action filed alleging corporate childcare provider uses illegal non-compete

Seattle, Washington — Yesterday, a former teacher at Bright Horizons, the largest provider of employer-sponsored child care in the country, filed suit in Washington State alleging the company violates Washington’s non-compete law by requiring that families who hire Bright Horizons teachers as their childcare providers within six months of their employment with Bright Horizons pay … Continued

News Press Releases Abuses of Corporate Power

Press Release: Colorado Worker Group Intervenes to Oppose Constitutional Challenge to State’s Workers’ Rights Statute

On Monday, November 7, Colorado Legal Services and an anonymous farmworker filed a motion to intervene in order to defend the constitutionality of a Colorado statute that provides access to vital protections and services for farmworkers, particularly those who live and work in rural communities. Colorado Legal Services is represented by Public Justice, Towards Justice, … Continued

News Press Releases Exploitation of Immigrants and Guestworkers

Press Release: Involuntary servitude claims against Polis Administration allowed to proceed

Denver, Colorado – Yesterday, people currently incarcerated in Colorado won a major legal battle when a Denver District Court judge refused to dismiss a legal challenge that alleges Governor Polis and the Department of Corrections illegally coerces labor from people who are incarcerated in the state. In 2018, through the passage of Amendment A, Colorado … Continued

News Press Releases Forced Labor and Trafficking