Thread: ACLU: Raided Calif firm mistreated illegal workers (updated)

ACLU: Raided Calif firm mistreated illegal workers

By The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 10:05 a.m.

LOS ANGELES — Civil rights groups are suing an Orange County government contractor that was the target of an immigration raid this summer.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups accuse Terra Universal Inc. of bilking illegal workers out of pay and violating their rights. The groups on Tuesday announced a federal lawsuit against the firm.

Immigration agents seized 43 workers in June at Terra Universal's Fullerton factory, where lawyers say the firm manufactures laboratory equipment for the U.S. military and other government clients.

The lawsuit is being filed on behalf of at least four workers who say Terra Universal denied them overtime pay and discriminated against them.

Company Chief Operating Officer Ken Harms says the company values its employees and is sad to hear some may be dissatisfied.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010 ... l-workers/

Published: Aug. 31, 2010
Updated: 10:42 a.m.

ACLU: Fullerton company exploited immigrants

BY CINDY CARCAMO
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER


LOS ANGELES – A Fullerton manufacturing business targeted earlier this summer by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on suspicion of hiring illegal workers is again under fire -- this time by a civil rights organization alleging the business exploited and discriminated against immigrant workers.

At a 10 a.m. news conference on Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles announced they were launching a federal lawsuit against Terra Universal in Fullerton.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents served a federal warrant at Terra Universal, a Fullerton manufacturing plant in June.

"Terra has always treated its employees fairly and has paid top wages and unequivocally denies that it violated any laws regarding employee matters and any other matters,'' he said.

ACLU officials said the multimillion dollar federal government contractor had violated federal labor laws, alleging company officials required employees to work long hours without overtime and discriminating.

ACLU staff attorney Jennie Pasquarella said the company's owner, George Sadaghiani, and human resources officials discriminated against workers, exploiting them based on their perceived legal status in the country.
Soon after the raid, Ross said the company complied with immigration law, hiring people it believed to be in the country legally. He also was critical of immigration officials, saying company officials were going to give employees a chance to sort out their legal status.

CLICK HERE to read an earlier story about the company's response to the ICE raid. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/comp ... html?pic=8)

The lawsuit came out of information ACLU officials gathered after the ICE workplace enforcement raid on June 29, when immigration officials served a federal search warrant at the business and nabbed 43 people on suspicion of being in the country illegally.

"The raid basically unearthed the facts of the exploitation that was going on in this factory— longstanding exploitation that had been going on for years and years in this largely immigrant workforce," Pasquarella said.

CLICK HERE to read the original story about the raid.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/agen ... plant.html

Pasquarella said the case is emblematic of what workers — who are in the country illegally and legally — face across the country.

"Employers have the misperception that because of the perceived immigration status of their workers they have a license to exploit and abuse," she said. "

Pasquarella and the complaint give a detailed account of how they say Terra Universal created a complex hierarchy of maltreatment based on varying degrees of legal status.

"The human resources department had a way of cataloging workers who had papers and who didn't, with red stickers on those who they believed were undocumented. One by one they told them they didn't have equal rights under employment law, or were not entitled to equal pay, not entitled to vacation and sick days and holidays," Pasquarella said. "They basically singled them out for abuse."

She said company officials discriminated against both illegal and legal immigrants who were primarily of Latino origin, treating them differently and paying them differently than their non-Latino counterparts.

Those workers suspected of being in the country illegally were required to work long hours -- anywhere from 12 to 14 hours -- on a daily basis without being paid overtime, the ACLU complaint states.

"They avoided having to pay them overtime wages by creating a scheme," Pasquarella said. "They had the worker clock in just under 8 hours and then clock back in, as if it were a second job."

In addition, the complaint describes a hostile workplace where Sadaghiani yelled at people who complained about conditions.

"The workers called him the king," Pasquarella said of Sadaghiani. "He was very present in their lives, roamed around telling them what to do and shouting at them."

ACLU officials said the case highlights a disconnect between the Department of Labor and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"I think there is conflicting interest there," Pasquarella said. "The Department of Labor is interested in enforcing labor laws ensuring victims -- regardless of immigration status -- can come out and report labor violations. ICE has different interests... and rather than going after unscrupulous employers they seem to have gone after the workers and possibly at a later stage — the employer. What message does that send to the workers who are the ones who are doubly victimized?"

CLICK HERE to read about a family affected by Terra's immigration raid.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/husb ... eople.html


This story is developing, please check back for more.


Contact the writer: 714-796-7924 or ccarcamo@ocregister.com

http://www.ocregister.com/news/workers- ... rella.html

One by one they told them they didn't have equal rights under employment law, or were not entitled to equal pay, not entitled to vacation and sick days and holidays

If they are illegals then they are not entitled to even be working here in the US.....PERIOD!

Give it a break! These people probably DON"T EVEN CARE. ALL they want is a job to send money BACK HOME!

CLICK HERE to read about a family affected by Terra's immigration raid.

Click here if anyone really cares about their abuses when Americans are being abused on a daily basis as well not to mention the jobs they can not get because some illegal alien will work for CHEAPER wages and lower safety standards!

Immigration agents seized 43 workers in June at Terra Universal's Fullerton factory, where lawyers say the firm manufactures laboratory equipment for the U.S. military and other government clients.

Government contracts are supposed to be by law, monitored to avoid a risk to National Security - another failure of our government ot protect us as we PAY them to. JMO

There have been reports posted that the illegals have been working the oil spills in the Gulf and in Michigan. Now it is coming out that in the Gulf the levels of corexit have been misrepresented and create a health risk. Gee I wonder who will pay for that, not the "contract employment company that bussed them in and made money off of them - they will be gone and the tapayers will be left holding the bag for the medical.

Where are the "advocates" now???

These raids do have some value, because they should make it more likely that the people who replace the illegals will receive better treatment. But these stories never seem to have any info re the illegals being deported. So it's just a newsworthy event, signifying next to nothing.

Another example of illegal aliens doing jobs Americans should be doing especially at DOD contractors. The DOD parachute manufacturing facility in North Carolina and the DOD Leather factory in Massachusetts are two more examples. Unemployed Americaqns especially veterans should be working there, NOT those who violated our laws, borders and sovereignty.

i for one think this is great , finally the ACLU isn't totally worhtless ...

i hope they sue EVERY employer of illegal immigrants ... once word gets around the IA community that the ACLU sued and got all of the now deported/fired workers a BUNCH of money , soon all of the illegals will claim mistreatment ! lawsuits galore ....

sue the employer into oblivion ..

Originally Posted by marquis

i for one think this is great , finally the ACLU isn't totally worhtless ...

i hope they sue EVERY employer of illegal immigrants ... once word gets around the IA community that the ACLU sued and got all of the now deported/fired workers a BUNCH of money , soon all of the illegals will claim mistreatment ! lawsuits galore ....

sue the employer into oblivion ..

If only that could become reality.

Originally Posted by marquis

i for one think this is great , finally the ACLU isn't totally worhtless ...

i hope they sue EVERY employer of illegal immigrants ... once word gets around the IA community that the MCLU sued and got all of the now deported/fired workers a BUNCH of money , soon all of the illegals will claim mistreatment ! lawsuits galore ....

sue the employer into oblivion ..

Ditto! I hope they sue this company into bankruptcy! Only then will these companies finally understand this cheap and illegal invader labor you're breaking the law by hiring ISNT'S SO CHEAP AFTERALL! Maybe you would have been better off hiring American citizens to begin with!

This is one case where I support the MCLU 100%! Sue the hell out any company that hires illegal invaders and "mistreats" these squatters! I hope every major newspaper carries it on their front page !