JACOBS SOLUTIONS, JACOBS ENGINEERING GROUP, AND CH2M HILL COMPANIES SUED FOR ALLEGED FORCED LABOR AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING FOR WORLD CUP CONSTRUCTION IN QATAR
Lawsuit filed by clients of Sparacino PLLC alleges that Jacobs and CH2M Hill participated in human trafficking and forced labor abuses in connection with the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar
WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, 38 construction workers from the Philippines filed a complaint against the U.S. companies Jacobs Solutions and CH2M Hill and their subsidiaries (collectively, "Defendants") for allegedly managing construction projects that used trafficked and forced labor. The Plaintiffs worked on stadiums built for the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where they were Plaintiffs allege they were trafficked and then forced to work. Defendants allegedly participated in the venture that exploited Plaintiffs, because they managed and oversaw the entirety of the construction efforts in preparation for the World Cup. The complaint, captioned F.C., et al. v. Jacobs Solutions Inc., et al., Case No. 23-cv-2660 (District Court for the District of Colorado, filed October 12, 2023), follows an extensive investigation by the Washington, D.C.-based law firms Sparacino PLLC and Global Rights, PLLC, as well as the Colorado-based law firm Olson Grimsley Kawanabe Hinchcliff & Murray LLC.
Plaintiffs claim Defendants managed and oversaw a construction venture that subjected them to inhumane working and living conditions and abuse, including by misrepresenting the terms of their employment in Qatar, forcing Plaintiffs to work inhumane hours and forcing them to live in inhumane conditions, and/or underpaying them or denying them payment for their work. The Plaintiffs also allege Defendants confiscated their passports, trapping them in Qatar, and forcing them to continue to work in violation of the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.
"This lawsuit is the result of a significant international investigation into labor abuses during construction for the World Cup in Qatar," said Eli J. Kay-Oliphant, a partner at Sparacino PLLC, "and my firm and I are proud to champion and vindicate the rights of these workers who we allege were exploited to build the stadiums."
"Olson Grimsley, along with our partner firms Sparacino and Global Rights, is honored to represent these workers who we allege were brought to Qatar on false pretenses, trapped there, and forced to work under unbearable living and working conditions, so that Qatar could host the 2022 World Cup. We look forward to securing justice for our clients," said Sean Grimsley, Partner at Olson Grimsley.
The Complaint in F.C., et al. v. Jacobs Solutions Inc., et al. is available online at: www.qatarcase.com.
Media Contact: Eli J. Kay-Oliphant, [email protected]
SOURCE Sparacino PLLC
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