SEATTLE, Oct. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A class action
lawsuit has been filed in federal court in Riverside, California, against The GEO Group,
Inc. ("GEO"). GEO operates the Adelanto ICE Processing Center
in Adelanto, California as a
subcontractor for the City of
Adelanto. The name of the case is Novoa, et al. v. The
GEO Group, Inc., No. 5:17-cv-02514. A federal judge decided
that this lawsuit should be a class action on behalf of the
following "Classes" and "Subclasses":
The Adelanto Wage Class:
All civilly detained immigrants who (i) were detained at the
Adelanto ICE Processing Center any time since December 19, 2014, and either (ii) participated
in the Voluntary Work Program1 at any point during their
detention, or (iii) performed work for no compensation in the
Uncompensated Work Program2 pending their participation
in the Voluntary Work Program, or (iv) performed work for no
compensation pursuant to the Adelanto Housing Unit Sanitation
Policy.3
The Adelanto Forced Labor
Class: All civil immigration detainees who were detained at the
Adelanto ICE Processing Center any time since May 1, 2011, with the following subclasses: a)
The Work Program Subclass: All individuals who participated in the
Voluntary Work Program at any point during their detention; and (b)
The Uncompensated Work Program Subclass: All individuals who
participated in the Uncompensated Work Program at any point during
their detention.
Plaintiffs in this lawsuit claim that GEO maintained a practice
of wage theft, unjust enrichment, and forced labor. GEO denies the
allegations made in the lawsuit and argues it has fully complied
with the law. The Court has not decided whether GEO did anything
wrong. There is no money available now, and there is no guarantee
there will be. However, the legal rights of individuals in the
Classes/Subclasses are affected and they have a choice to make
now.
Affected individuals have a choice of whether to stay in the
Classes/Subclasses or not, and this must be decided now.
Affected individuals that stay in the Classes/Subclasses will be
legally bound by all orders and judgments of the Court, and they
won't be able to sue, or continue to sue, GEO as part of any other
lawsuit with the same claims. To stay in the Classes/Subclasses,
affected individuals do not have to do anything now.
If you choose to stay in the class action, you may also engage
an attorney of your own choosing, but at your own expense.
Affected individuals who want to be excluded from the
Classes/Subclasses will not get any money or benefits from this
lawsuit, but they will keep their rights to sue GEO for the claims
made in this lawsuit and will not be bound by any orders or
judgments of the Court. To ask to be excluded, a letter must be
sent to the address below, postmarked by December 22, 2020, requesting to be excluded
from Novoa v. The GEO Group, Inc.:
GEO Adelanto Class Action Notice
Administrator
c/o JND Legal Administration
P.O. Box 91350
Seattle, WA 98111
The Court appointed the law firms of Burns Charest LLP of
Dallas, TX, the Law Office of R.
Andrew Free of Nashville, TN, and Ahdoot and Wolfson, PC of
Los Angeles, CA, to represent the
Classes/Subclasses.
For more information, visit www.GEOAdelantoClassAction.com;
email info@GEOAdelantoClassAction.com, or call:
Toll-Free in U.S.: 1-888-383-0320
Toll-Free in Mexico: 1-800-062-4329
____________________
1 Plaintiffs allege that the "Voluntary Work Program"
is the program GEO operates at Adelanto where detainees work as porters,
janitors, kitchen workers, laundry workers, barbers, or in any
other job in exchange for $1 per
day.
2 Plaintiffs allege that the "Uncompensated Work
Program" means GEO's practice of hiring detainees to work as
porters, janitors, kitchen workers, laundry workers, barbers, or in
any other job outside their housing units for no money at all.
Detained immigrants typically complete a Work Detail Application
for a position in the Voluntary Work Program and must work for an
arbitrary period of time—months, in some cases—for no compensation
before they begin to receive $1 per
day for their labor.
3 Plaintiffs allege that the "Housing Unit Sanitation
Policy" is a program GEO operates at Adelanto where detainees clean and sanitize
their housing units, dormitories, pods, showers, and common living
areas for no compensation. If you were detained at
Adelanto, you were part of the
Housing Unit Sanitation Policy.
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content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/immigration-detainees-who-performed-work-at-the-adelanto-ice-processing-center-may-be-affected-by-a-class-action-lawsuit-301148153.html
SOURCE JND Legal Administration