State Leaders Target Labor Trafficking
Increased awareness, targeted legislation, and collaboration across sectors are the key to fighting labor trafficking.
Rapid industry growth is usually good news for America—except when it isn’t. Each year, an estimated $236 billion is generated globally from human trafficking, with $64 billion resulting from forced labor. Those who suffer sexual exploitation capture the headlines, but those trapped in forced labor arrangements, specifically domestic work, often remain invisible to most. Fortunately, states and industry leaders are increasingly taking actions to help eliminate this modern-day slavery.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) defines labor trafficking as, “the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery” with individuals caught up in the system required to perform work or services by coercion and force. Its victims are often forced to pay an exorbitant fee to international cartels that specialize in human smuggling, and their travel documents are frequently seized by their employers. Forced to work 24-hour days, seven days a week, for virtually no pay, labor trafficking victims are trapped in substandard conditions and punished for speaking out.
In 2021, over two dozen alleged traffickers were indicted in Georgia for purportedly coercing migrants into agricultural labor. Allegedly, immigrants trafficked from Mexico and South America were exploited and subjected to brutal conditions as their legal documents were confiscated. According to the indictment, the perpetrators controlled their charges by threatening them with violence and deportation. The case is ongoing, with several defendants already convicted and sentenced.
Also in 2021, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine enacted Executive Order 2021-02D, which expanded the Governor’s Human Trafficking Task Force to address the epidemic of labor trafficking in Ohio. The expansion created five new agencies providing public officials with tools to identify labor trafficking victims, offer essential resources, and establish a uniform framework for investigating and prosecuting suspected cases. Additionally, the new Task Force distributed labor trafficking awareness materials statewide targeting occupations typically staffed by human trafficking victims.
One of the Task Force’s priorities is providing awareness information for state and local partners, with an emphasis on labor trafficking. The Ohio Department of Commerce trained its wage and hour investigators to identify and investigate labor trafficking cases. Additionally, on September 30, 2024, Ohio launched its statewide human trafficking hotline, where Ohioans can submit tips on suspected labor and sex trafficking.
In Kansas, 27th in the nation for human trafficking victims, state Reps. Rebecca Schmoe and Carrie Barth advanced legislation in 2023 to designate human smuggling as a state crime. The ALEC Federalism, Homeland Security, and International Relations Task Force adopted the Act to Designate Human Smuggling as a State Crime based on the legislation.
In an ALEC video interview with Barth and Schmoe, they observed that, “Everyone was shocked to discover you could be arrested for smuggling drugs, but there was nothing illegal about smuggling human beings […].”
California enacted AB 1888 in September 2024, which created a new Labor Trafficking Unit in collaboration with the California Department of Justice to “… receive, investigate, and process complaints alleging labor trafficking and take steps to prevent labor trafficking.” This unit will take on a “victim-centered approach” to ensure labor trafficking victims receive crucial resources and support. The ALEC Women’s Caucus Roundtable in December 2023 featured a human trafficking survivor who shared that law enforcement professionals inadvertently re-victimized her, missing crucial signs of abuse. California’s plan might avoid these pitfalls.
Florida has taken a leadership role on this issue as well, with Gov. Ron DeSantis signing anti-human trafficking bill HB 7063 in May 2024. The bill requires public lodging establishments, massage parlors, and adult entertainment facilities to display human trafficking awareness signs with the Florida Human Trafficking Hotline number for access to victim services. Businesses contracting with the state government must now provide assurances that they refrain from using coerced labor or services. HB 7063 also requires all adult entertainment facilities to verify the ages and identities of entertainers to prevent exploitation.
While speaking at ALEC’s Annual Meeting in July 2022, former Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody highlighted the importance of both enforcement and education in diminishing human trafficking. She stressed the importance of the collaboration of “non-traditional” partners, like the private sector, to help law enforcement identify and report potential cases of human trafficking.
“When I took office, I made sure we had an active and engaged task force…so in our state, we have at least 20 active and engaged task forces that are made up of law enforcement and victim service providers,” said Moody.
Increased awareness, targeted legislation, and collaboration across sectors are the key to fighting labor trafficking. States like Ohio, Kansas, California, and Florida are leading the way in shining a spotlight on this often-overlooked form of exploitation in the hope of rescuing America’s modern-day slaves.
If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, please call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-800-373-7888 and visit Victims/Survivors | Human Trafficking | Office for Victims of Crime for more resources.