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 * Combating Labor Exploitation and Human Trafficking
 * The Department of Labor's approach to human trafficking


THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR'S APPROACH TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING




More in This Section
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 * What is human trafficking?
 * How to get help
 * The Department of Labor's approach to human trafficking
   * Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy
   * Wage and Hour Division
   * Occupational Safety and Health Administration
   * Office of Inspector General
   * Employment and Training Administration
   * Bureau of International Labor Affairs
 * Additional resources

Domestic context and approach

Labor trafficking occurs throughout the U.S. economy, but is often found in
industries such as:

 * Agriculture
 * Construction
 * Landscaping
 * Hotels
 * Domestic work
 * Restaurants
 * Seafood

Traffickers in the United States exploit people with little or no social safety
net. They look to individuals in vulnerable situations due to economic hardship,
immigration status, political instability, natural disasters and other causes.
Vulnerable U.S. populations that have a heighten risk of being exploited
include:

 * Undocumented workers (those who lack legal authorization to work in the
   United States)
 * Foreign workers in the United States on temporary employment-based visas.
 * People with substance use disorder or with mental health concerns.
 * Runaway or homeless youth and those involved in the foster care and juvenile
   justice systems.
 * People experiencing poverty and economic hardship.

Employers become human traffickers when they use force or physical threats,
psychological coercion, abuse of the legal process, fraud, or deception, or
other coercive means to compel someone to work and eliminate the individual's
ability to leave. Examples of labor exploitation that are labor violations and
clear signs of possible labor trafficking include:

 * Lack of control over earned wages.
 * Fraudulent recruitment practices that result in wages withheld to pay off
   debts to the employer.
 * Unusual living conditions.
 * Workplace injuries.
 * Movements restricted.
 * Passport and/or other identity documents taken.

Civil enforcement of federal labor laws is a critical component of the
government's anti-trafficking efforts. The Department of Labor investigates
complaints and conducts targeted civil labor investigations involving workers in
industries and sectors known to be vulnerable to labor trafficking, including
agriculture, construction, landscaping, hotels, restaurants, and seafood.

Through the department's Wage and Hour Division's (WHD) and Occupational Safety
and Health Administration's (OSHA) civil enforcement, in particular, we partner
with federal law enforcement agencies around the identification and referral of
potential instances of trafficking in persons and the calculation of restitution
amounts for victims. Because many wage and hour and workplace safety
investigations take place in industries that employ vulnerable workers, the WHD
and OSHA are often the first federal agencies to make contact with these workers
and detect exploitation in the workplace.

The department's enforcement of federal labor laws is also critical to the fight
against trafficking because it potentially addresses labor exploitation before
it rises to the level of labor trafficking. We believe that the fight against
labor trafficking can succeed only if its fundamental root causes are understood
and addressed.

International context and approach

Just as in the United States, traffickers around the world exploit people with
little or no social safety net. They look to take advantage of individuals in
vulnerable situations due to economic hardship, refugee status, immigration
status, political instability, natural disasters, and other factors. These
vulnerable populations include:

 * In Mexico, migrant farmworkers, many of whom are of indigenous descent, are
   especially vulnerable to forced labor in agriculture due to low education
   levels, linguistic barriers, and discrimination.
 * Migrants, including unaccompanied minors, fleeing gang violence, natural
   disasters, and economic hardship in countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala,
   and Honduras are at risk of trafficking throughout their journey to countries
   such as the United States and Canada.
 * Throughout many countries, persons with disabilities face increased
   difficulty in accessing education and decent work, leaving them more
   vulnerable to current or future labor exploitation.
 * In addition, in some countries, birth registration and obtaining identity
   documents may be unduly burdensome, prohibiting families in marginalized
   groups from being able to access government services, social protection
   benefits, and decent work opportunities which puts them at increased risk of
   trafficking and abusive labor conditions.
 * Around the world, women and LGBTQI+ individuals are at increased risk of
   being subjected to commercial sexual exploitation.

The department's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) is a world leader
in the fight to eradicate child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking
through its international research and reporting, e-tools, technical assistance,
and strategic engagement. ILAB has contributed to the global reduction of nearly
86 million child laborers since 2000, including children who have been
trafficked or are subjected to forced labor.

 * ILAB produces in-depth research on child labor and forced labor in more than
   150 countries around the world, including individual country roadmaps to
   support the enforcement of labor provisions in trade agreements and
   preference programs.
 * ILAB develops develop innovative, publicly available electronic tools
   advancing supply chain transparency and social compliance for businesses and
   consumers.
 * ILAB designs and funds technical assistance projects around the world to
   address the root causes of labor exploitation, strengthen labor laws and
   enforcement, lift up worker voice, expand social protection and remediation
   services, and provide direct livelihoods support.
 * ILAB strategically engages foreign governments to reduce worker
   vulnerability, such as through consular agreements with countries that send
   large numbers of workers to the United States on temporary work visas.

Learn more on how the Department of Labor's agencies approach combating labor
exploitation and human trafficking

 * Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy
 * Wage and Hour Division
 * Occupational Safety and Health Administration
 * Office of Inspector General
 * Employment and Training Administration
 * Bureau of International Labor Affairs

Examples of the Department of Labor's involvement in human trafficking cases
through the years

 * Human Smuggling, Forced Labor Among Allegations in South Georgia Federal
   Indictment (Operation Blooming Onion)
 * Katy Couple Ordered to Pay Restitution in Nanny Case
 * High-Ranking Taiwan Representative Charged with Fraud in Foreign Labor
   Contracting
 * Ten Thai Nationals Indicted on Charges of Slavery and Kidnapping (El Monte
   Sweatshop Case)
 * Owner of Farm Labor Company Sentenced to 118 Months in Prison for Leading a
   Multi-State Conspiracy Involving Forced Labor of Mexican Farm Workers

What's going on at DOL

 * DOL seeks nationwide court injunction to stop Packers Sanitation Services'
   'oppressive child labor' violations at processing facilities
 * Federal court orders Hyundai, Kia auto parts manufacturer to stop employing
   minors illegally, end 'oppressive' child labor violations
 * DOL announces new reports, tools in global effort to end child, forced labor
 * DOL awards $2.5M grant to counter forced labor, human trafficking, other
   abuses in Southeast Asia's fishing industries
 * DOL investigation recovers $1.3M in back wages, finds Texas potato farm
   denied nearly 500 farmworkers full wages, overtime
 * DOL commits to continuing the fight against human trafficking through
   collaboration, enforcement, outreach
 * Exposing the Brutality of Human Trafficking
 * Fighting Human Trafficking: The Legacy of the El Monte Sweatshop
 * How Our Updated Action Plan Combats Human Trafficking
 * What the El Monte Sweatshop Case Means to Me
 * Centering the Voices of Human Trafficking Survivors

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