Catherwood LibraryILR School

Seeking to take advantage of exploitable immigrant labor, the John Pickle Company of Tulsa, Oklahoma enticed approximately fifty workers from India to come to the U.S. with promises of U.S. jobs as welders, electricians and engineers. Instead, according to charges by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Justice Department and Labor Department?s joint Worker Exploitation Task Force, the workers were discriminated against and held as virtual prisoners in a warehouse where they were kept under armed guard and threatened with deportation if they complained. The Labor Department has filed a separate lawsuit against the company for wage and overtime violations, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also investigating the case.