Thread: New Bedford factory raided by ICE settles worker lawsuit

New Bedford factory raided by ICE settles worker lawsuit

M.L.


New Bedford (AP) -- The former owners of a New Bedford leather goods factory raided last year by immigration agents will pay $850,000 to workers -- including illegal immigrants -- to settle a lawsuit claiming the company violated wage laws, attorneys said Tuesday.

Michael Bianco Inc. will pay more than $600,000 to 764 former employees for unpaid wages and overtime to settle the lawsuit filed in May 2007. The remaining money will go for such things as legal fees and contributions to community groups that work with immigrants.

"This agreement should send a message to other companies that they have to follow labor laws regardless of workers' immigration status," said Audrey Richardson, an attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services, which filed the lawsuit.
Some of the illegal immigrants arrested in raid who will benefit from the settlement have returned to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras; others are still in the U.S. Greater Boston Legal Services is trying to locate former workers who would receive the money.

In March 2007, agents raided Michael Bianco and arrested 361 workers, mostly women from Central America, on federal immigration charges. Earlier this month, company owner Francesco Insolia pleaded guilty to harboring and concealing illegal immigrants.

According to the lawsuit, the company tried to avoid paying overtime by giving workers paychecks from Michael Bianco for day shift work and checks from a bogus second company, called Front Line Defense, for evening shift work.

The separate checks made it appear that workers who put in long hours had not exceeded the 40-hour-a-week mark that triggers overtime pay.

The lawsuit also alleged Michael Bianco had so few time clocks that workers waited in long lines to clock in, then were illegally docked 15 to 30 minutes pay if they were even one or two minutes late.

Workers also were not paid for time spent waiting in line to clock out -- sometimes up to a half hour, the lawsuit said.

According to court documents, Insolia created Michael Bianco, Inc., in 1985 to manufacture handbags and leather goods. The company grew from 85 employees in 2001 to 650 by 2006, and it was awarded almost $230 million in U.S. Department of Defense contracts.

The company was sold to Fenton, Mo.-based Eagle Industries more than a year ago.

Immigrant advocates had criticized the March 2007 raid for separating families and leaving children without proper care. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the raid was properly handled.




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http://wbz.com/New-Bedford-factory-raid ... -l/3341348

"This agreement should send a message to other companies that they have to follow labor laws regardless of workers' immigration status," said Audrey Richardson, an attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services, which filed the lawsuit.

Well, well, well, cheap labor isn't so cheap is it. Wise up business owners, more is coming your way. Stand up for American workers and do what is right.

Mass. factory raided last year settles worker suit
By Russell Contreras
Associated Press Writer / November 18, 2008


BOSTON—The former owners of a New Bedford leather goods factory raided last year by immigration agents will pay $850,000 to workers -- including illegal immigrants -- to settle a lawsuit claiming the company violated wage laws, attorneys said Tuesday.

Michael Bianco Inc. will pay 764 former employees from $20 to $8,000 each. The employees claimed they were forced to work overtime without pay and had their waged docked when they were late clocking in, even though they said there weren't enough machines to handle the volume of workers.

Some of the illegal immigrants arrested in the raid who will benefit from the settlement have returned to their native countries in Central America; others are still in the United States. Greater Boston Legal Services, which represented the employees, is trying to locate former workers who would receive the money.

"This is a lesson that we hope that the city and the state will be able to acknowledge because we are hard workers," former employee Digna Mendoza said in Spanish. "All we want is respect."

The company, which handled millions of dollars worth of U.S. Department of Defense contracts before the raid, admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement. Diane Saunders, an attorney for Michael Bianco, did not immediately return phone messages left by The Associated Press.

In March 2007, agents raided Michael Bianco and arrested 361 workers, mostly women from Central America, on federal immigration charges.

Immigrant advocates criticized the raid for separating families and leaving children without proper care. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the raid was properly handled.

Earlier this month, company owner Francesco Insolia pleaded guilty to harboring and concealing illegal immigrants.

According to the lawsuit, the company tried to avoid paying overtime by giving workers paychecks from Michael Bianco for day shift work and checks from a bogus second company, called Front Line Defense, for evening shift work. The separate checks made it appear that workers who put in long hours had not exceeded the 40-hour-a-week mark that triggers overtime pay.

Former employee Elsy Hernandez said she often worked 14 hours a day, six days a week, but never received overtime pay while working for both companies.

"There were weeks when I would even work 16 hours a day," Hernandez said in Spanish. "And I still didn't get overtime."

The lawsuit also alleged Michael Bianco had so few time clocks that workers waited in long lines to clock in, then were illegally docked 15 to 30 minutes pay if they were even one or two minutes late. Workers also were not paid for time spent waiting in line to clock out -- sometimes up to a half hour, the lawsuit said.

All former Michael Bianco and Front Line Defense employees who worked between 2004 and March 2007 are eligible to receive restitution payments. Audrey Richardson, a senior attorney at the Greater Boston Legal Services, said payouts depend on length of employment and wages lost.

More than $600,000 of the settlement will go to 764 former employees for unpaid wages and overtime to settle the lawsuit filed in May 2007. The remaining money will go for such things as legal fees and contributions to community groups that work with immigrants.

The six workers who put their name on the class action lawsuit will receive $2,000 each "for their courage," Richardson said.

The agreement sends a message that companies have to follow labor laws regardless of the immigration status of its workers, Richardson said.

She said the case was just the "tip of the iceberg" of similar labor abuse cases in Massachusetts. But she declined to say if Greater Boston Legal Services was involved in others.

According to court documents, Insolia created Michael Bianco, Inc., in 1985 to manufacture handbags and leather goods. The company grew from 85 employees in 2001 to 650 by 2006, and it was awarded almost $230 million in U.S. Department of Defense contracts.

The company was sold to Fenton, Mo.-based Eagle Industries more than a year ago.

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On the Net:

Greater Boston Legal Services: http://www.gbls.org/
http://tinyurl.com/65ho7g