OLYMPIA — A federal judge rejected an effort by the Northwest Detention Center’s operator, GEO Group, Inc. (GEO), to dismiss Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s lawsuit against the company for allegedly violating Washington’s minimum wage laws.
“The court is clear: GEO cannot avoid accountability by hiding behind its contract with ICE,” Ferguson said. “This is an important step toward holding this multi-billion dollar company accountable for exploiting its detainee workers in Washington by not following our minimum wage laws.”
According to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), GEO uses immigration detainee labor to perform virtually all non-security functions at Tacoma’s Northwest Detention Center (NWDC), the only private detention facility in the state. Since at least 2005, GEO has paid thousands of detainee workers $1 per day or, in some instances, snacks and extra food for labor that is necessary to keep NWDC operational. Washington’s minimum wage is $11.50 per hour.
The lawsuit accuses GEO of violating Washington’s minimum wage laws. These laws are broadly written and meant to protect as many workers as possible.
According to the AGO, there are no exceptions for private, for-profit facilities like NWDC. In contrast with a jail or prison, which house people involved in the criminal justice system and are operated by state or local governments, detainees at NWDC are held in a private, for-profit facility pending civil immigration proceedings.
Ferguson filed the lawsuit in September 2017, alleging that GEO’s practice violates Washington law by paying workers less than the minimum wage, and that GEO unjustly enriched itself by doing so.
Because it contracts with ICE to provide immigration detention services at NWDC, GEO asked the court to either bring ICE in as a party to the case, or dismiss the case entirely. The state pointed out GEO’s contract with ICE requires it to comply with state laws.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert Bryan rejected both options, and ruled that the lawsuit will proceed.
“Equity and good conscience … weigh in favor of the case proceeding, rather than its dismissal,” Judge Bryan wrote.
Judge Bryan also denied GEO’s motion because Ferguson’s lawsuit seeks to protect public rights guaranteed by Washington’s wage laws “on behalf of detainees, non-detainee residents of the state of Washington, and other businesses competing in the marketplace.”
