A federal lawsuit was recently filed against a pair of business owners in Oklahoma, alleging that they lured “immigrants to the US on work visas then paid them substandard wages.” This latest suit was filed back  in June by three “Jamaican immigrants who came to the US under student work visas between 2008 and 2012.” It's the second lawsuit of it's kind. Last year another suit was filed by “three Filipino immigrants who came into the country on temporary work visas in 2012” and experienced similar conditions the three Jamaican immigrants allegedly did.Named as defendants in the two lawsuits are “husband-and-wife Walter and Carolyn Schumacher and companies they own and operate in Clinton, about 80 miles west of Oklahoma City.” Both suits allege “the workers were paid less than minimum wage, charged for housing that was to be free or low-cost, and were given fewer work hours than promised.”

Oklahoma City; image courtesy of Greater Oklahoma City Chamber and Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/

Similar cases have been filed in the past over the mistreatment of immigrants in the U.S., and often involve immigrants on work visas. However, immigration attorney Kent Felty said the cases are and “will continue to be rare, partly because of the language barrier immigrants face, their unfamiliarity with US law, and the amount of time it would take an attorney to win what might be a small judgment.” Felty, who is not involved in the recent lawsuit, said:“You can say it’s not about the money, but it’s about the money … you can’t do it as a private attorney, it’s all about if you’re going to get paid. Maybe it’s a thousand dollars. Where are you going to find attorneys to take that case for a thousand-dollar judgment?”Felty also believes selecting a jury to hear such cases would probably be difficult as well. He said, “Half the country would give them a million dollars on a thousand dollar case, and half the country would like to see them deported.”Felty has experience with cases similar to the two filed against Walter and Carolyn Schumacher and understands full well what the plaintiffs experienced and the justice they so badly want. Not too long ago he sued the John Pickle Company in Tulsa and Falcon Steel Structures, Inc, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and won. The allegations in the lawsuit were similar to those detailed out in the recent Oklahoma suits.The plaintiffs in the recent Oklahoma suits are represented by the “non-profit Equal Justice Centre, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom law firm, which provides pro bono services,” according to court documents.

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