MALDEF LAWSUIT AGAINST MICHIGAN COMPANIES FOR IMMIGRANT LABOR VIOLATIONS CONTINUES AS PLAINTIFF GRANTED CLASS CERTIFICATION

MALDEF

Companies alleged to have fraudulently recruited immigrant workers and promised nonexistent employment

June 22, 2016

DETROIT, MI - Yesterday, Judge Stephen J. Murphy of the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan ruled that MALDEF's lawsuit against Systems USA Inc. and Systems USA Consulting LLC for violating the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) should proceed as a class action. MALDEF's lawsuit alleges that the companies recruited and enticed computer programmers to travel from Mexico to the United States for nonexistent jobs, and systematically defrauded the federal government to obtain visas for those individuals by representing that the companies would be employing the programmers once they arrived in the United States.

"This case shines a light on unscrupulous labor contractors and serves as a warning," stated Nina Perales, MALDEF Vice President of Litigation. "Systems USA will now have to answer to the many workers that it lured to this country with false promises and then exploited," continued Perales.

The 2014 suit was filed on behalf of Narciso Jose Alejandro Castellanos and others who were promised work as computer programmers by Systems USA Inc. and Systems USA Consulting LLC at an annual salary of $52,000. In fact, the company had no job available, but instead planned to contract Castellanos' employment to third party companies and profit from the placement.

Click here to view yesterday's order.

Founded in 1968, MALDEF is the nation's leading Latino legal civil rights organization. Often described as the "Latino Legal Voice for Civil Rights in America" MALDEF promotes social change through advocacy, communications, community education, and litigation in the areas of education, employment, immigrant rights, and political access. For more information on MALDEF, please visit: www.maldef.org.