April 10, 2024
The U.S. Department of Justice's argument for federal supremacy as grounds to deny immigrant detainees minimum wage in the workers' fray with detention operator GEO Group doesn't hold up to scrutiny, attorneys say, in a case that has helped shine a light on employee rights for those behind bars.
March 25, 2024
A group of immigrant detainees has urged the Ninth Circuit to reject the federal government's stance that a privately run detention center in Tacoma is exempt from Washington's minimum wage, saying the United States has failed to point to any conflicting federal laws.
February 23, 2024
The federal government told the Ninth Circuit that immigrant detainees at contractor-run facilities aren't covered by state labor laws, backing GEO Group Inc.'s effort to overturn $23.2 million in judgments that found a detainee work program violated Washington's minimum wage law.
December 21, 2023
The Washington Supreme Court said Thursday that civil detainees confined to a privately run facility and working while behind bars are considered employees and entitled to the state minimum wage — a decision that will likely ripple across other cases on the same issue.
March 07, 2023
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday asked Washington's highest court to clarify whether the state's minimum wage law applied to immigrant detainees in a GEO Group facility, calling it a "determinative" issue in GEO's bid to overturn a $23.2 million judgment.
October 06, 2022
Two Ninth Circuit judges on Thursday indicated interest in hearing from the Washington Supreme Court on whether the state's minimum wage law covers detainees at a Geo Group-run immigration facility, but the company argued that input isn't necessary to overturn $23.2 million in judgments against it.
June 01, 2022
The federal government's immigration powers don't supersede a state's power to enforce wage laws, the American Civil Liberties Union said when asking the Ninth Circuit to affirm that a private prison owes immigrant detainees $23.2 million in back pay.
May 31, 2022
State-level minimum wage laws would be upended if the Ninth Circuit overturns a ruling that a private prison group owes detainees $23.2 million in back pay, according to a group of 15 states backing Washington state's response to the appeal effort.
May 23, 2022
Washington state told the Ninth Circuit that a private prison company is attempting to hide behind federal law to justify paying immigrant detainees $1 a day for prison labor, urging the panel to uphold a lower court's finding that the workers are owed millions in back pay.
March 23, 2022
GEO Group Inc. urged the Ninth Circuit to overturn $23.2 million in judgments that it had underpaid a Washington detention center's immigrant detainees, saying a district court had snubbed a growing legal consensus that detainees aren't covered by wage protections.