September 11, 2017
By Paragon News Director Paul Joseph –
Attorneys for Clinton business owners accused of trafficking Filipino Nationals are responding to the accusation including a request for the suit to be dismissed.
Walt and Carolyn Schumacher are responding through a court document filed by their attorneys.
According to a story in the Clinton Daily News, the motion to dismiss and/or strike the plaintiffs’ class action complaint was filed September 1 by their attorneys in Oklahoma City.
The original suit was filed in late July of this year by the American Civil Liberties Union and the nonprofit law firm, The Equal Justice Center and employee rights group, Legal Aid at Work. It alleges that the Schumachers, owners of several businesses, lured workers from the Philippines several years ago by promises of good wages, but were, instead, paid less than the minimum wage.
The suit was filed on behalf of three former Filipino workers and seeks an unspecified amount in punitive and compensatory damages for the workers because it alleges they were paid less than their contract allows and less than the federal minimum wage.
The lawsuit says the immigrants were threatened with physical harm when they complained that their compensation didn’t meet contractual obligations. It also seeks class-action status.
In the motion to dismiss, attorneys for the Schumachers say that the plaintiff’s complaints tell a false tale of human trafficking and breach of contract arising out of their employment. It adds that each of the defendants in the lawsuit vigorously dispute the allegations.
The attorneys provided one of the former worker’s letter of resignation from 2012 in their motion to dismiss the case. The letter from Marygene Casilao says she enjoyed her time and learned “so much with the work.” She states she needs to “grab other opportunities” and that she thanked them for their understanding, adding, “God bless” at the end of her letter.
The motion to dismiss also says the only “contracts” the employees claim that were breached were created by documents and regulations associated with the H-2B visa program. The attorneys write that the “theory” associated with the visa program has been repeatedly rejected by federal courts.
And, finally, it says the statute of limitations for filing wage-based claims has passed. The deadline would have been three years after their employment ended in 2012 making it sometime in 2015, two years ago.
In response to the plaintiff’s allegation that Walt Schumacher carried a firearm in his car and at one time told one of the workers that he “would only pay for return airfare to the Philippines” if the employee was returning there “in a box,” attorney’s say his comment contains no details about the context of the statement nor is there any allegation that Schumacher ever drew his firearm, brandished it or even mentioned the possibility of using it.
It adds that the allegation is nothing more than vague innuendo and can’t possibly be construed as a threat of physical force or restraint. It merely reflects a refusal to pay for a return trip to the Philippines.
The other plaintiffs named in the lawsuit are Harry Lincuna and Allan Garcia.
-30 –