Keeping victims isolated – sometimes physically, sometimes emotionally – is a key method of control in most labor trafficking situations. But that does not mean you never cross paths with someone who is being trafficked. A contractor might notice that a subcontractor’s team appears to be sleeping in unfinished homes, or a suburban mom might learn from a nanny at her local playground that her employer mistreats and threatens her.
Someone might be in a labor trafficking or exploitation situation if you learn they:
- Feel pressured by their employer to stay in a job or situation they want to leave
- Owe money to an employer or recruiter and/or not being paid what they were promised or are owed
- Do not have control of their passport or other identity documents
- Are living and working in isolated conditions, largely cut off from interaction with others or support systems
- Appear to be monitored by another person when talking or interacting with others
- Are being threatened by their boss with deportation or other harm
- Are working in dangerous conditions, without proper safety gear, training, adequate breaks and other protections
- Are living in dangerous, overcrowded or inhumane conditions provided by an employer
