On May 11, 2020, Nichols Kaster, PLLP filed a lawsuit on behalf of their client Miguel Amezcua Peregrina individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated against Defendant SEAM Group, LLC. The complaint alleges that Defendant used fraud and other pressures to coerce highly trained guest workers to come to the United States. Once here, and despite what they were promised, the workers were made to fill entry-level positions and were subjected to unsafe work environments. Amezcua Peregrina also alleges that Defendant exploited guest workers by paying them less than their white and/or American counterparts and failed to comply with federal wage and hour laws.
“We believe all workers are entitled to be treated equally under the law, and that a a company’s standard of treatment and fairness should not depend on a worker’s country of origin or race. That didn’t happen here. Instead, many workers like our client were targeted, exploited, and suffered a great deal as a result” said Plaintiffs’ attorney Rebekah L. Bailey of Nichols Kaster, PLLP. “Our client wants to ensure this does not happen to anyone else. We are honored to represent him.”
Plaintiff Amezcua Peregrina brings this action against Defendant on behalf of himself and on behalf of a putative collective and class for failing to pay workers legally compliant minimum wages and overtime compensation in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 201, et seq.; for discriminating against workers on the basis of their race and/or national origin in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq.; for denying guest workers equal rights on the basis of their race, ethnicity, and/or ancestry in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (Section 1981), 42 U.S.C. § 1981, et seq.; and for trafficking guest workers, in violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), 18 U.S.C. § 1589 et seq.
The Plaintiffs are represented by Rebekah L. Bailey, Robert L. Schug, Anna P. Prakash, and Nicole J. Schladt of Nichols Kaster, PLLP. The case is Peregrina v. SEAM Group, LLC, 1:20-CV-01032, and is filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.