U.S. flag
        An official website of the United States government
          Here’s how you know
        Here’s how you know**Official websites use .gov**
              
                A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
        **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
              
                A **lock** (
              A locked padlock
              ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive
                information only on official, secure websites.  Home
                    *U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission*

      search
      Menu
      Any of these words (optional)
Search

    close
            About EEOC
          
                        
  
    **About EEOC**
                        Overview
                                  The Commission and The General Counsel
                                  Commission Votes
                                  Meetings of the Commission
                                  EEOC History
                                  **News and Information**
                        Newsroom
                                  What You Should Know
                                  Legislative Affairs
                                  Publications
                                  Outreach and Education
                                  FOIA
              **Laws and Enforcement**
                        Laws, Regulations, Guidance and MOUs
                                  Discrimination by Type
                                  Mediation
                                  Litigation
                                  Systemic Enforcement
                                  Commissioner Charges and Directed Investigations
              **Programs and Performance**
                        Budget and Performance
                                  Initiatives
                                  Interagency Programs
                                  State and Local Programs
                                  Task Forces
                                  Tribal Programs
              **Data and Analytics**
                        Overview
                                  Data Governance
                                  EEO Data Collections
                                  Data and Statistics
                                  Data Tools and Products
                                  No FEAR Act Data
                                  **Inside EEOC**
                        Careers
                                  Office for Civil Rights, Diversity and Inclusion
                                  Doing Business with EEOC
                                  Privacy
                                  Office of Inspector General
          
                                            
  
      
                  
                        Employees & Job Applicants
          
                        
  
    **Employees & Applicants**
                        Overview
                                  Coverage
                                  Timeliness
                                  Prohibited Practices
              **Filing a Charge of Discrimination**
                        Filing a Charge
                                  How to File
                                  After You File a Charge
                                  Confidentiality
                                  Mediation
                                  Remedies
                                  Existing Charges
                                  Filing a Lawsuit
              **Discrimination by Type**
                        Age
                                  Disability
                                  Equal Pay
                                  Genetic Information
                                  Harassment
                                  National Origin Discrimination
                                  Pregnancy Discrimination
                                  Race/Color Discrimination
                                  Religious Discrimination
                                  Retaliation
                                  Sex
                                  Sexual Harassment
                                  Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
          
                                  
  
      
                  
                        Employers / Small Business
          
                        
  
    **Employers / Small Business**
                        Overview
                                  Coverage
                                  After a Charge is Filed
                                  Resolving a Charge
                                  Commissioner Charges and Directed Investigations
                                  Remedies
              **Small Business Resource Center**
                        Small Business Home
                                  Small Business Requirements
                                  Frequently Asked Questions
                                  Tips for Small Businesses
                                  Making an Employment Decision?
                                  EEOC Resources
                                  Small Business Assistance
                                  Small Business Fact Sheet
                                  Small Business Videos
                                  EEOC Glossary
                                  Contact Us
              **Discrimination by Type**
                        Age
                                  Disability
                                  Equal Pay
                                  Genetic Information
                                  Harassment
                                  National Origin
                                  Pregnancy
                                  Race/Color
                                  Religion
                                  Retaliation
                                  Sex
                                  Sexual Harassment
                                  Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
                                  Prohibited Practices
              Recordkeeping
                                  EEO Data Collections
                                  "Know Your Rights" Poster
                                  Training
                                  Other Employment Issues
          
                                            
  
      
                  
                        Federal Sector
          
                        
  
    **Federal Agencies**
                        Overview
                                  Federal EEO Coordination
                                  Federal Agency EEO Directors
                                  Laws, Regulations, Guidance & MOUs
                                  Management Directives & Federal Sector Guidance
                                  Federal Training & Outreach
                                  Resources
              **Federal Employees & Job Applicants**
                        Overview
                                  Federal Complaint Process
                                  Federal Sector Alternative Dispute Resolution
                                  Discrimination by Type
                                  Other Federal Protections
                                  Prohibited Practices
                                  Resources
          
                        
  
      
                  
                        Contact Us
          
                        
  
    Contact EEOC
                                  Find Your Nearest Office
                                  Office Operating Status
                                  Frequently Asked Questions

        
                  Languages
    English
              Español (Spanish)
                    Resources in Other Languages
                    عربي (Arabic)
              简体中文 (Chinese, Simplified)
              繁體中文 - Chinese (Traditional)
              Kreyòl Ayisyen (Haitian Creole)
              한국어 (Korean)
              Русском (Russian)
              Tagalog (Tagalog)
              Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
              فارسی (Persian. Farsi)
              پښتو (Pashto)
          

  

  Breadcrumb
Home
  A Message from EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows for National Human Trafficking Prevention Month

                      
                        

          
          
                        A Message from EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows  for National Human Trafficking Prevention Month
              


          
  Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Human trafficking is a crime against humanity and a grave threat to the freedom and liberty of millions in the United States and around the world. Therefore, President Biden has proclaimed January 2022 as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. This month’s dedication is vital to raising awareness about the different forms of human trafficking and educating people about how to spot this horrific crime.

Survivors of human trafficking include men, women, and children, and are disproportionately members of immigrant, migrant, or other vulnerable communities. In the words of the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, “In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.” At the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), we recognize that every worker deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. The EEOC’s enforcement of protections against workplace discrimination has an important role in the fight to end human trafficking and to fulfill America’s promise of equal justice. When force, fraud or coercion are used to compel labor or exploit workers, traffickers and employers may violate not only criminal laws but also the federal laws enforced by our agency – in particular, the laws prohibiting employment discrimination on the bases of race, national origin, sex and disability.

For example, in August 2020, the EEOC reached a settlement with Green Acre Farms and Valley Fruit Orchards, the last defendants in a long-running lawsuit involving trafficking of Thai farmworkers. The EEOC’s suit alleged that several farms had hired Thai farmworkers through a labor services company, Global Horizon, and subjected them to severe discrimination, including the inability to travel off the farms, inadequate food, substandard and unsanitary housing, and abusive working conditions because of their race and national origin. The agency obtained initial monetary relief and changes to employment practices from the two farms in a publicly filed consent decree. The EEOC has also recently collected $4.8 million for 54 affected workers who worked in Hawaii to partially satisfy an earlier judgment against another defendant farm in the Global Horizons Hawaii litigation – Maui Pineapple.

In addition, in recent years, some of the EEOC’s most notable efforts have been related to protecting survivors of human trafficking under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In 2018, the EEOC filed suit in South Carolina against Work Services, Inc.,**seeking remedies for discrimination against six employees with intellectual disabilities who worked at a turkey processing plant. The suit sought relief for years of unpaid wages, adverse terms and conditions of employment, and a hostile work environment on behalf of workers who were particularly vulnerable to abuse, financial exploitation, and the denial of their basic legal rights. We coordinated with federal, state, and county authorities, and resolved the case by a five-year consent decree that included injunctive and monetary relief.

In a similar lawsuit in 2013, a jury awarded the EEOC $240 million – the largest verdict in the agency’s history – against Hill Country Farms, Inc., doing business as Henry’s Turkey Service. The suit sought relief for 32 workers with intellectual disabilities who suffered trafficking, exploitation, abuse, and discrimination at a turkey processing plant from 2007-2009, after 20 years of similar mistreatment. Although the award was later reduced due to statutory limits, the verdict sent a powerful message to companies about the need to respect the rights of the most vulnerable workers.

In addition to our enforcement efforts, the EEOC also conducts outreach and education to convey information about employment rights and responsibilities, including those related to labor trafficking under federal employment discrimination laws. In fiscal year 2021, we held 71 agency outreach events with 3,563 attendees that addressed trafficking issues.

The EEOC is pleased to participate in the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, which includes 20 federal agencies responsible for the coordination of government-wide efforts to combat human trafficking. EEOC employees are working enthusiastically to implement the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking to support U.S. and global anti-trafficking efforts:

We are participating in efforts to develop screening tools and training for frontline staff on how to recognize the signs of human trafficking and ways to address it once identified.
	We stand ready to investigate and pursue claims referred from criminal enforcement agencies, non-governmental organizations, and international partners where labor trafficking also may violate federal antidiscrimination laws.
	To increase early awareness among teens, we are updating the EEOC’s Youth@Work program materials to add information on labor trafficking for high school students who are starting their first jobs.To protect our individual rights to freedom and dignity, each of us can play a part in ending human trafficking – by becoming more informed of its devastating impact, raising awareness about its atrocities, and reporting instances of inhumane working conditions. Through our multiprong approach of enforcement, education, and empowerment, the EEOC is committed to protecting our most vulnerable populations from the horrors of human trafficking and advancing equal opportunity in the workplace for all.Return to top

  EEOC Logo, Image
            U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

          EEOC Headquarters
              131 M Street, NE
Washington, DC 205071-800-669-6820 (TTY)1-844-234-5122 (ASL Video Phone)

        Questions?

Call 1-800-669-4000
For Deaf/Hard of Hearing callers:1-800-669-6820 (TTY)1-844-234-5122 (ASL Video Phone)info@eeoc.govFind your nearest EEOC officeFrequently Asked Questions
          Connect With Us

  FOIA
      
    
                      Privacy Policy
      
    
                      Disclaimer
      
    
                      Accessibility
      
    
                      Office of Inspector General
      
    
                      Promoting Access to Voting
      
    
                      USA.gov