According to Yale Law School , on Dec. 18 , five migratory workers served placard of a course activity causa on N. Casertano Greenhouses & Farms , a Connecticut - based farm and wholesale glasshouse , and national parturiency contractor Manzana , LLC . plaintiff Francisco Javier Zavala Martinez , Rene Meza Quirino , Carlos Giovanni Perez Castro , Luis Adrian Perez Garcia , and Victor Hugo Maximo Diaz aver that the company and their proprietor have exploited migratory workers by recruit and lease them through the federal H-2A impermanent agricultural doer visa program , only to systematically violate the computer programme ’s regulation .

complainant charge the case on Dec. 2 , 2024 , in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut . They are represented by students and mental faculty from the Worker and Immigrant Rights and Advocacy Clinic ( WIRAC ) at Yale Law School .

According to the clinic , defendants Casertano Greenhouses and Manzana , LLC have extracted DoL from the plaintiffs , include assembly of Christmas decorations sold to consumers this holiday season , in violation of federal and United States Department of State law .

The H-2A visa programme allows employers to convey alien workers to the United States for temporary agrarian labor . As alleged in the ailment , defendants Casertano Greenhouses and Manzana , LLC have abuse the H-2A temporary visa computer program since at least 2019 to force economically vulnerable Mexican migratory workers into a cycle of dependance and forced labor .

The lawsuit alleges that contrary to H-2A platform rules and Union and state constabulary , the defendants have repeatedly demanded unauthorized fee , unlawfully forced workers to take a calendar month of recreational farewell in the middle of each grow season , delayed salary , endanger expatriation , nix workers from leaving their overcrowded housing social unit , and prevented workers from speaking honestly with Union investigator . By creating an atmospheric state of fear and domination , the suspect secured a cheap , uninterrupted , and reliable workforce .

" We are bring this lawsuit because we know there are people that are going through the same things we go through — mass who do n’t talk up about abuse because they urgently need work , " said plaintiff Francisco Javier Zavala Martinez . " That ’s how I was at the beginning . I follow to the U.S. because my female parent was wan , and her roof caved in . I needed oeuvre , and I stayed quiet about the abuse for four years . The stress was painful . But I want other workers to know that they have rights , that there are legal philosophy that protect us . "

In improver to its greenhouse and farm operation , Casertano Greenhouses boasts that it is " one of the largest providers in the country of outdoor Christmas décor . " In order of magnitude to meet their needs for the vacation season , defendants command plaintiffs to ferment extended week — between nine and 10 hours per day , approximately six days a week , from September until other December — all without extra time wage . These conditions are crying violations of H-2A program dominion , harmonize to the clinic .

" With the holiday time of year approach , this lawsuit serves as an important reminder , " said Laura Plata ' 26 , a jurisprudence scholar medical intern in WIRAC . " Consumer products are often made by workers , like complainant , who are capable to using and condition of abuse driven by the desire of ship’s company , like defendants , to meet aggregated output goals at whatever cost , whether by flagrantly violating the law or denying basic regard for the human dignity of their employee . "

" While complainant file this cause to search justice on behalf of the doer harmed by the defendants ' scheme here in Connecticut , in realism H-2A workers across the state are vulnerable to similar abuses , " explain Gabriela Torres - Lorenzotti ' 25 , another law student medical intern in the clinic .

H-2A worker are uniquely vulnerable to exploitation because the program wed doer ' in-migration status to a exclusive problem , and employers also control actor ' lodging . Under the computer programme , employers such as Manzana transport economically vulnerable workers to worksites far from home , where they are often geographically , socially , and linguistically isolated , and are always intemperately reliant on their employer - landlord . The programme is rife with abuse , according to the clinic , as the U.S. Department of Labor and numerous guard dog organizations have long recognized .

" The economic system in Mexico is very unmanageable , " excuse complainant Carlos Giovanni Perez Castro . " You are always look for a path to get ahead . And companies like Manzana really blackguard and take advantage of that need . "

Defendants Manzana and its owner Lawrence Williams have been action at least twice in recent years for systemic ill-usage of the H-2A program , including loser to pay H-2A doer the wages ensure by their contracts , fraudulent promises , and national origin discrimination .

The Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic ( WIRAC ) , a part of the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization at Yale Law School , constitute immigrants , miserable - earnings proletarian , and their establishment in labor , immigration , criminal justice , civic rights , and other issue . The clinic docket include cases at all stagecoach of legal proceedings in Immigration Court , the Board of Immigration Appeals , U.S. District Court , the U.S Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit , and before Connecticut country way and courts .

root : Yale Law School

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