“Human trafficking” brings to mind images of “coyotes,” ferrying migrants across the border, women held in sex trade bondage, and impoverished foreign workers trapped in brutal working conditions. These abuses happen in America, and they require a strong response.
To combat these evils, Congress enacted the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 “to combat trafficking in persons, especially into the sex trade, slavery, and involuntary servitude.” The legislation created criminal offenses for forced labor and sex trafficking and has since been amended to permit trafficking victims to bring civil lawsuits.
Now known as the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, the law contains severe penalties, with no damages limit. But no law, however well-intentioned, is safe from the ingenuity of trial lawyers.
Emboldened by the potential of unlimited damages and guaranteed attorneys’ fees, plaintiffs’ lawyers have taken advantage of the TVPRA’s sometimes imprecise language to turn ordinary employment disputes into hyperbolic lawsuits alleging “human trafficking” and “involuntary servitude.” These lawsuits burden the legal system and impose real costs on the public.
Kingspan has been fined 40 million by the European Commission for providing incorrect and misleading information during the EU’s 2021 review of its planned acquisition of rival building materials ...