The Salvation Army violates federal labor law, three separate lawsuits filed across three states allege.
The lawsuits, which were filed on Wednesday in federal courts in New York, Illinois, and Georgia and seek unspecified damages, accuse the religious nonprofit organization of working its employees full-time but failing to pay them fairly for such work.
"In name, The Salvation Army's [adult rehabilitation centers] claim to be rehabilitative, but the reality is that they take advantage of vulnerable people with few options," said Michael Hancock, counsel at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, in a press release. "Instead of getting support on the road to stability and recovery, participants are forced to do grueling manual labor, live in meager conditions, make pennies in wages and give up government assistance that could improve their self-sufficiency."
The Salvation Army regularly requires those staying at their adult rehabilitation centers to perform "work therapy," which includes a minimum of 40 hours of highly physical labor for wages between $1 and $30 per week, according to the filing. Current federal law requires employers to pay a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
Those employed at the centers are also restricted from seeking work outside the Salvation Army.
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