20 Set 2025
They Were Promised a Taste of America. They Got Abuse and Exploitation.
Riepilogo
Date Reported: 20 Set 2025
Location: Stati Uniti d'America
Companies
The Home Depot, Inc. - Buyer , Kurt Weiss Greenhouses - Employer , Costco - Buyer , Walmart - BuyerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Filippine , Agriculture & livestock , Gender not reported , Documented migrants ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Sudafrica , Agriculture & livestock , Gender not reported , Documented migrants ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Kosovo , Agriculture & livestock , Women , Documented migrants ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Brasile , Agriculture & livestock , Women , Documented migrants ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Serbia , Agriculture & livestock , Men , Documented migrants )Issues
Recruitment Fees , Denial of leave , Excessive production targets , Sexual harassment , Dismissal , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Contract Substitution , Occupational Health & Safety , Injuries , Illness , Intimidation , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Precarious/Unsuitable Living ConditionsResponse
Response sought: Yes, by BHRC and journalist
Story containing response: (Find out more)
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Kurt Weiss Greenhouses’ former director said to the NYT that most employees had positive experiences; he strongly defended the company’s safety record but did not address specific examples of worker injuries. He said that the greenhouse treated all visa workers with respect. Costco, Walmart, and Home Depot did not respond to BHRC's request for comment.
Source type: News outlet
Riepilogo
Date Reported: 20 Set 2025
Location: Stati Uniti d'America
Companies
Marie Eiffel Market - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Restaurants & bars , Women , Documented migrants )Issues
Sexual harassmentResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: The New York Times approached the companies that employed the workers; they either denied the allegations, declined to discuss the programme or did not respond.
Source type: News outlet
Riepilogo
Date Reported: 20 Set 2025
Location: Stati Uniti d'America
Companies
Aya - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Irlanda , Real estate sales , Women , Documented migrants ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Camerun , Real estate sales , Men , Documented migrants )Issues
Intimidation , Freedom of Expression , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Contract Substitution , Denial of leaveResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
Action taken: Aya declined to comment to The New York Times.
Source type: News outlet
Riepilogo
Date Reported: 20 Set 2025
Location: Stati Uniti d'America
Companies
Skytop Strategies - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Colombia , Media & publishing: General , Women , Documented migrants )Issues
Wage Theft , Intimidation , Debt Bondage , Contract Substitution , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Denial of leaveResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: The company's founder said the findings were “riddled with inaccuracies” but did not elaborate. He declined several interview requests from the NYT.
Source type: News outlet
… they were eager to learn on the job at Kurt Weiss Greenhouses…
…they … toiled past midnight loading … trucks bound for Costco, Walmart and Home Depot...
…representatives of companies that employ J-1 workers either denied mistreating workers, declined to discuss the program or did not respond…
…a Hershey Company packing plant was caught putting visa holders on gruelling …shifts…
…the Grand America Hotel turned to the program in 2016…
…One student was given the evening shift assembling Lunchables at …Tur-Pak Foods, where conditions were so vile…
And three men from Guatemala scraped together money to work at a pork production plant, Livingston Enterprises…
…a student from Malaysia who went to work … at a Shelter Island cafe called Marie Eiffel, said her boss… spanked her…
Helen Lynch traveled from Ireland in 2023 to work at a New York apartment leasing company called Aya…
And then there were the people who went to work at Skytop Strategies…
The sponsor, International Arts and Artists, did little to help. And when the architecture firm, Studioteka, fired Ms. Rodriguez over her complaints, the sponsor said she would need to find another job…
…Iryna Humenyuk, a Canadian college student who is ethnically Ukrainian, arrived there by way of another sponsor, Intrax…