# Report Labor Abuses

We are committed to helping protect the rights of foreign workers in the United States. There are a variety of online resources that provide information about workers’ rights and issues:
                - Rights and Protections for Temporary Workers  (Department of State)
                - “Know Your Rights” pamphlet  (PDF)  (Department of State)
                - Wage and Hour Division  (Department of Labor)
                - Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA)  (Department of Labor)
                - Workplace safety issues  (Department of Labor)
                - Labor laws and issues  (usa.gov)

To report general immigration benefit fraud and abuse, use our online tip form.

You can also find information about human trafficking at the bottom of this page.

If you are in immediate danger and in the U.S., call 911 to contact the police. Tell them the emergency, your location, and the phone number from which you are calling. Ask for an interpreter if you do not speak English.

If you are not in immediate danger, you can report suspected unethical or illegal conduct by calling the toll-free numbers or visiting the webpages below.

**U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)**

USCIS has webpages and email addresses dedicated to combating suspected H-1B and H-2B fraud or abuse. Anyone, including both American and foreign workers who suspect they or others may be the victim of fraud or abuse, can email USCIS to submit tips, alleged violations, and other relevant information. For additional information on reporting suspected H-1B and H-2B fraud, please see the below USCIS webpages.

Combating Fraud and Abuse in the H-1B Visa Program

Email: Report ReportH1BAbuse@uscis.dhs.gov

Combating Fraud and Abuse in the H-2B Visa Program

Email: ReportH2BAbuse@uscis.dhs.gov

**U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (DOL/WHD)**

DOL promotes compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of U.S. workers, including enforcing employment standards and worker protections in several programs for employing foreign workers.

Toll-free phone number: 1-866-487-9243 (TDD for deaf and hard of hearing: 1-877-889-5627) Assistance is available in many languages via live interpreters.

How to File a Complaint

To report alleged H-1B violations by an employer, use Form WH-4.

**U.S. Department of Justice, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (DOJ/IER)**

IER enforces the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. § 1324b. Regulations for this law are found at 28 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 44. This federal law prohibits:
                    - Citizenship status discrimination in hiring, firing, recruitment, or referral for a fee;
                    - National origin discrimination in hiring, firing, recruitment, or referral for a fee;
                    - Unfair documentary practices during employment eligibility verification (Form I-9 and E‐Verify); and
                    - Retaliation or intimidation.

Toll-free worker hotline: 1-800-255-7688 (TDD 1-800-237-2515). Assistance is available in many languages with live interpreters.

Filing a Charge with IER

Email: ier@usdoj.gov

**U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE/HSI)**

ICE’s worksite enforcement strategy focuses on the criminal prosecution of employers who knowingly hire individuals who are not authorized to work in the United States. ICE also uses I-9 audits and civil fines to encourage compliance with the law. Worksite enforcement investigations often involve egregious violations of criminal statutes by employers and widespread abuses. Such cases often involve additional violations such as alien smuggling, alien harboring, document or other fraud, money laundering, or worker exploitation. ICE also investigates employers who employ force, threats, or coercion (for example, threatening to have employees deported) in order to keep the unauthorized alien workers from reporting substandard wage or working conditions.

Toll-free phone number: 1-866-347-2423 in the U.S. and Canada. Assistance is available in English and Spanish.

Online HIS Tip Form

**U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)**

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. These laws protect you against employment discrimination when it involves:
                    - Unfair treatment because of your race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information;
                    - Harassment by managers, co-workers, or others in your workplace because of your race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information;
                    - Denial of a reasonable workplace accommodation that you need because of your religious beliefs or disability; and
                    - Retaliation because you complained about job discrimination or assisted with a job discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

Toll-free phone number: 1-800-669-4000 (TDD 1-800-669-6820). Assistance is available in many languages with live interpreters.

Filing a Charge of DiscriminationEmail: info@eeoc.gov

**National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)**

The NLRB is an independent federal agency vested with the power to safeguard employees' rights to organize and to determine whether to have unions as their bargaining representative. The agency also acts to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices committed by private sector employers and unions.

Toll-free phone number: 1-844-762-NLRB (6572)

Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. Human trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons, is a form of modern-day slavery in which traffickers lure individuals with false promises of employment and a better life.

If you are being mistreated in the United States, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text “HELP” or “INFO” to 233733 (BeFree). You may also submit a tip on the NHTRC website at https://traffickingresourcecenter.org/report-trafficking

For more information about what human trafficking looks like, how to report suspected trafficking, and who to call for help if you believe you or someone you know may be a victim of trafficking, go to:

**The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Blue Campaign**

The Blue Campaign is the unified voice for DHS’ efforts to combat human trafficking. Working in collaboration with law enforcement, government, nongovernmental and private organizations, the Blue Campaign strives to protect the basic right of freedom and to bring those who exploit human lives to justice.

A variety of materials are available in many languages on the Blue Campaign’s online Document Library.

**Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)**

The FBI’s Civil Rights program investigates matters that include human trafficking and involuntary servitude. These include instances in which a person was induced to engage in commercial sex acts through force, fraud, or coercion, or to perform any labor or service through force, coercion, or threat of law or legal process.

Typically, human trafficking cases fall under the following investigative areas:
                    -  Domestic Sex Trafficking of Adults: When someone is compelled to engage in commercial sex acts through means of force, fraud, and/or coercion.                        -  The FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Section handles domestic juvenile sex trafficking issues.
                    -  Sex Trafficking of Foreign Adults and Children: When adult and juvenile aliens are compelled to engage in commercial sex acts with a connection to the United States through force, fraud, and/or coercion. 
                    -  Forced Labor: When someone, including an alien, is compelled to work in some service or industry through force or coercion. This includes domestic servitude working for families or households through force or coercion. 

Read the FBI’s Help for Victims of Trafficking in Person brochure  (PDF) for more information.

Toll-free phone number: 1-800-225-5324. Assistance is available in English and Spanish, or you can use the Online FBI Tip Form

Report Labor Abuses Translations
                    - Report Labor Abuses Chinese  (PDF, 370.8 KB)
                    - Report Labor Abuses Tagalog  (PDF, 1.3 MB)
                    - Report Labor Abuses Vietnamese  (PDF, 1.13 MB)
                    - Report Labor Abuses ilocano  (PDF, 1.29 MB)
                    - Report Labor Abuses Korean (PDF, 416.01 KB)

03/13/2020

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