Please see Harvard Law Review: https://harvardlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/vol126_counteracting_the_bias.pdf

The guest worker program should be expanded but administered by the United States government at the source. There should be no 3rd party private recruitment agencies involved the guest worker programs. Currently guest workers from agricultural to high tech pay kickbacks to these labor recruiters and contractors. Companies who wish to recruit must be vetted and the actual company that the employee works at. H visas should... more »

It is nearly impossible for most industries to eliminate human trafficking and labor exploitation in their supply chain without vertically integrating. Many products we use, from its raw material form to manufacturing to transportation to retail may at some point have been worked on by slave labor. In most cases, workers employed by contractors or raw material suppliers, occupy the lowest levels of the supply chain pyramid.... more »

Finding good people that currently are in the countries that are exploited. The good people there have ideas, but are not able to implement. My uncle was a diplomat & wrote a book on the great resources in his country (Cote d'Ivoire) but that they (all people in whole process) are exploited & sold out to France. They are still treated like a colony.

How about really following up and contacting folks that actually have a case and then enforce.

Diverse agricultural products around the world count on certifications to verify quality standards in issues such as environmental protection, phytosanitary standards, fair commerce, etc. Although certifications are not a full guarantee of labor compliance, they often include certain labor issues that can at least set minimum standards to guarantee acceptable labor conditions. I think it is key to work with certification... more »

In Northern New England, all State enforcement agencies are faced with not having an investigator easily available that speaks the native language or understands the customs of the minority groups to perform a thorough investigation within predominantly ethnic businesses. The agencies must rely upon interpreters over the phone to attempt to conduct the interview. The use of phone interpreters usually results in frustration... more »

I think having a national number to dial like 411 would be helpful. I know there is a 1-888 number but in case of emergencies it's much easier and more likely for someone to dial a number that is easy to remember. If this were to happen local TV stations could do a segment on the new number and hopefully add some updated information about the most current information of labor trafficking. Or possibly working with 211... more »

When I was in manufacturing we competed against China and US Based companies with Undocumented Laborers / Labor Trafficking Victims. Both groups had wage rates well below our legal operating wage rates. In fact we were known in the area as one of the top paying employers, paying every employee a living wage.

What set us apart was engaging our employees in training and education on how to constantly review and improve... more »

First of all, Thank You for bringing this issue to the forefront.

I have been in the union construction trades for over 32 years. I have been on staff for over 16 years. A lot of my days are spent talking to workers in the construction industry who are either, not paid right, misclassified or threatened if they speak to anyone of authority.

To date we have filed numerous wage theft violations over the years against... more »

No one disputes that we need to invest in making sure the resources and staff exist and the appropriate law enforcement agency is properly staffed and funded, but that's not enough. We need to go beyond the slick posters and occasional poorly funded ad campaign with meaningful, hard-hitting training and outreach for frontline workers.

We've all heard the stories. A teacher, waitress, convenience store clerk, front desk... more »

I work for an Ag Employer and what is needed is virtual tools to education farmworkers and employers. Many farms are small family owned businesses and they need affordable and accessible training tools to teach their employees how to recognize trafficking, how to respond to suspected behavior and confidential reporting procedures.

Examples of successful projects include the ¡Basta! toolkit, this sexual harassment prevention... more »

At previous meetings in DC with officers of a couple of departments, some of us proposed that investigators from departments such as Wage & Hour, as well as OSHA, were in a position to be aware of, identify, and report possible cases of labor trafficking to other enforcement agencies, or even to social services providers who work with trafficked persons.

DOL personnel are at times better equipped to do this, as agents... more »

ISSUE ONE: Legal Action of Wisconsin's trafficked farmworker clients, particularly H-2A visa clients, repeatedly have wage and hour violations. However, when DOL W&H investigators arrive to interview these agricultural workers, our clients tell us that they feel compelled by their bad actor employer or crew leader to not answer investigator questions honestly (ie. Pressured to tell DOL investigators they've received their... more »

Current efforts to identify and interdict labor trafficking are at the artisanal scale and is like trying to drain a lake of its water one cup at a time. There is vast amounts of open source data available on various aspects of the labor supply chain. Monitoring efforts are currently hampered by an inability to cross reference data points across multiple massive data sets from different agencies, companies and the internet.... more »