Promoting the rights and dignity of domestic workers

In June 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictment of a Maryland couple on charges that they held a Filipina domestic worker in servitude.  The couple lured the victim—an impoverished, uneducated mother of eight—by promising a salary that could support the victim’s children in the Philippines.

The indictment document reveals that the couple “procured a fraudulent visa to allow the victim to enter the United States; confiscated the victims documents after she arrived; and compelled her to  labor for 13 hours a day over a period of 10 years, using threats, assaults, withholding of pay and a peonage contract to coerce the victim’s continued service.”

This Filipina who is identified only as “T.E.” finally escaped from the 10 years of abuse by her U.S. employer.  Court records reveal that she also tried to escape in 2002 but her employer threatened her with arrest if she did not return. Because of fear, she returned to her abusive employers. Her employer then threatened to shoot her if she tried to run away again.

The indictment papers also reveal that the employer had hit, pinched and poked her with knives. Finally, in 2009, she escaped and never returned.

The indicted couple will stand trial. If convicted, they each face a maximum sentence of up to 50 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

“T.E.” is a permanent resident and obtained her green card by marrying her employer’s brother who is suffering from diabetes and dementia and required extensive care. The employers are also charged with immigration violations.

The case of T.E. is a classic case of human trafficking. The Department of Justice has heightened its efforts to locate such victims and prosecute the perpetrators.

Undocumented  workers

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security has announced changes in policy to further protect abused domestic workers—particularly of diplomats.

Diplomats, consular officers, foreign government offices and international organizations are allowed to apply for visas for their domestic workers. In cases where the employer threatens a domestic workers who dares complain of abuses with deportation, these workers may seek relief through  “deferred action”. Depending on the circumstances of their case, they may also avail of a  nonimmigrant “T” visa.

Considering that most of the domestic helpers are strangers to their new environment, they often find it difficult to assert their rights.

Unlike in the case of private employers such as the Maryland couple, a domestic helper of a diplomat usually does not have redress against his or her employer. Diplomats are immune from criminal, civil and administrative suits from all courts of the United States and its states under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

This is what actually happened in the 2008 case of Marichu Baoanan who claimed abuse in the hands of her employer, a Philippine Ambassador, who was relieved of liability under diplomatic immunity, among other reasons. The federal lawsuit against the ambassador did not prosper.

Domestic helpers of foreign representatives in the US may find it difficult, if not legally impossible, to file lawsuits against their employers. Still they are  entitled to apply for the nonimmigrant “T” visa which  will allow them to stay in the United States while an investigation is being conducted. There is also an opportunity to apply for an immigrant visa after a few years.

Rights of victims

Domestic workers take care of our homes, parents and children. They are entitled to assert their basic workplace rights. Most employers treat their workers fairly. But for employers who are perpetrators of human trafficking and are abusive, government prosecutions are a reminder that domestic workers are entitled to protections.

Just like any ordinary employee, domestic workers should not tolerate verbal, physical or emotional abuses.

Just like T.E., most of these workers are heads of households and are supporting their families back home. Hence, when faced with an abusive employer, they should be encouraged to assert their rights. Availing of the “T” visa or deferred action may be a challenge but it is a solution that may free them from fear and uphold their dignity.

Tancinco may be reached at [email protected] or at 8877177 or 7211963