In 2023, California regulators levied more than $100,000 in fines against the private operator of a federal immigration facility, kicking off a three-year battle over whether detainees who do work at the facilities should be considered employees.<\/p>\n
The question went beyond semantics: If considered employees, the detainees would be subject to state worker protection laws. <\/p>\n
A legal settlement<\/a> announced this week now affirms that private immigrant detention facilities are subject to California\u2019s workplace safety and health requirements.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery worker deserves a safe and healthy workplace and should be able to report workplace hazards without fear of retaliation,\u201d said Denisse G\u00f3mez, spokesperson for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health or Cal\/OSHA. <\/p>\n \u201cIndividuals who perform work in these facilities are entitled to workplace safety protections, and this settlement reinforces Cal\/OSHA\u2019s commitment to enforcing those protections and safeguarding vulnerable workers,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n Under the settlement between California and the GEO Group, a Florida-based private prison company, the company recently withdrew its legal challenges and agreed to pay more than $100,000 in the fines. <\/p>\n The Department of Homeland Security and the GEO Group did not respond to requests for comment. <\/p>\n Back in 2023, Cal\/OSHA issued $104,510 in fines<\/a> against the GEO Group. The agency had found six violations of state code by the company after detainees complained about a lack of protective equipment and proper training while cleaning the facility for $1 per day.<\/p>\n Detainees alleged they routinely wiped black mold off shower walls at the facility, saw black dust spew from air vents and used cleaning solutions that lacked instructions during the COVID-19 pandemic. <\/p>\n The biggest fine levied against the GEO Group was for failure to establish and maintain \u201ceffective written procedures to reduce employee risk of exposure to aerosol transmissible disease.\u201d <\/p>\n Advocates viewed Cal\/OSHA\u2019S recognition of the detainees as workers as a victory that could pave the way for future labor rights fights at other detention centers in the state. <\/p>\n But the GEO Group appealed, arguing that detainees participating in ICE\u2019s voluntary work program make their own schedules and aren\u2019t employees, so hazard exposure couldn\u2019t be \u201cas a result of assigned duties,\u201d as California law states. Plus, the company argued, there wasn\u2019t enough evidence that detainees were exposed to any hazard. <\/p>\n Early last year, the state\u2019s Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board<\/a> rejected the GEO Group\u2019s argument and found that detainees should be considered \u201caffected employees.\u201d <\/p>\n The GEO Group sued, but three days before a California Superior Court hearing in May, the company and Cal\/OSHA reached the settlement. <\/p>\n Along with paying the fines, the GEO Group agreed to draft plans for avoiding aerosol transmissions at 12 secure and reentry facilities in California, including five detention centers that hold immigrants. <\/p>\n \u201cGEO ensures detainees are afforded the necessary tools, equipment, and personal protective equipment … to safely and effectively perform any necessary tasks,\u201d the settlement states.<\/p>\n G\u00f3mez said the settlement also leaves intact the appeals board\u2019s ruling that civil immigration detainees who participate in work programs can participate in proceedings anonymously, \u201cacknowledging the potential for retaliation when individuals raise workplace safety concerns.\u201d <\/p>\n But the question of whether detainees are employees and deserve certain protections isn\u2019t entirely resolved \u2014 at least not for the federal government.<\/p>\n Last month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released new standards<\/a> for detention facilities across the country. The revised guidelines \u201cemphasize that detainee volunteers participating in the voluntary work program are not considered facility and\/or government employees\u201d and thus not entitled to labor regulations.<\/p>\n Attorney Mariel Villarreal said the timing of the new detention standards made her question whether the GEO Group had asked ICE to specify in its standards that detainees are not workers in response to its battle with Cal\/OSHA. <\/p>\n \u201cTo me, it\u2019s a reaction to this very settlement,\u201d she said. Villarreal works for the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, which filed the original complaint on behalf of detainees who said they worked in unsafe conditions.<\/p>\n