It’s worthwhile to be familiar with the broad reach of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA).
There’s a lot more to the TVPA than T Visas.
This legislation safeguards victims of human trafficking and forced labor, enabling them to pursue legal action in U.S. courts against those responsible for their exploitation. Victims may receive compensatory and, in some cases, punitive damages, as well as attorney’s fees.
The TVPA covers situations where individuals are coerced into labor through violence, threats, or other means, including economic or contractual pressure. It can also apply to businesses that knowingly profit from trafficking or forced labor, even if they aren’t the primary perpetrators.
To succeed in a TVPA lawsuit, a victim must provide evidence demonstrating the defendant’s involvement in trafficking, the benefits they received from it, and their knowledge or reasonable suspicion that the victim was being exploited. These cases can be brought forward as class actions, and attorney’s fees may be contingent on a successful recovery.
Various cases have been successfully pursued under this law, involving victims from different industries, such as hospitality, healthcare, nursing and manual labor.
Here is an example of a TVPA settlement:
