the Washington Post reports<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\nThe prison, the Denver Contract Detention Facility, detains immigrants waiting for court appearances. The lawsuit was filed in 2014 and gained class action status last week following a ruling by U.S. District Judge John Kane. The facility, operated out of Aurora, Colorado by GEO Group, is under contract with ICE.<\/p>\n
It’s the first time in history where a class-action\u00a0lawsuit accusing a\u00a0U.S. prison company of forced labor has been allowed to progress.<\/p>\n
“That’s obviously a big deal; it’s recognizing the possibility that a government contractor could be engaging in forced labor,” Nina DiSalvo, executive director of Towards Justice, a Colorado-based nonprofit group that represents low-wage workers, told the Post. “Certification of the class is perhaps the only mechanism by which these vulnerable individuals who were dispersed across the country and across the world would ever be able to vindicate their rights.”<\/p>\n
GEO allegedly pays\u00a0detainees $8 less than the state’s minimum wage in Colorado, which is set at $9, and has not denied doing so — saying that paying $1 a day does not violate any laws.<\/p>\n
“We intend to continue to vigorously defend our company against these claims,” GEO Group spokesman Pablo Paez said in a statement, reports the Post. “The volunteer work program at immigration facilities as well as the wage rates and standards associated with the program are set by the federal government. Our facilities, including the Aurora, Colo. Facility, are highly rated and provide high-quality services in safe, secure, and humane residential environments pursuant to the federal government\u2019s national standards.”<\/p>\n
The nine plaintiffs who were part of the original lawsuit claim that detainees\u00a0who refuse to work\u00a0are threatened with solitary confinement.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit alleges\u00a0six prisoners are selected\u00a0every day randomly and forced to clean the facility\u2019s housing units. The practice, the suit claims, violates the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which prohibits modern-day slavery.<\/p>\n
“Forced\u00a0labor is a particular violation of the statute that we’ve alleged,”\u00a0Andrew Free, one of the plaintiffs’\u00a0attorneys, told the Post. “Whether you’re calling it forced labor or slavery, the practical reality for the plaintiffs is much the same. You’re being compelled to work against your will under the threat of force or use of force.”<\/p>\n
___
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