This is one of the reasons I refused to even shop in their stores, much less "donate" to them.
This is one of the reasons I refused to even shop in their stores, much less "donate" to them.
The Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) program takes advantage of vulnerable individuals and profiting from exploitative labor by force and threats of harm, say four former workers in a new class action lawsuit.
Specifically, the lawsuit accuses The Salvation Army National Corporation and The Salvation Army, known as Central Territorial of The Salvation Army (SA Central Territory), of violating the Federal Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. SA Central Territory oversees The Salvation Army work in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
The lead plaintiffs are Darrell Taylor, Kevin Lewis, Darrell Burkhart, and Leevertis Page, all of whom worked in the ARC under SA Central Territory.
Taylor, Lewis, Burkhart, and Page claim they were each required to work at least eight hours per day and at least 40 hours per week for food, shelter, and “gratuity” between $1 and $25 per week.
They say their food assistance EBT cards with their SNAP benefits were confiscated upon their arrival at ARC as a “condition of [their] participation” in the program. When Page left the ARC, his EBT card was returned with a $0 balance, says the Salvation Army class action lawsuit.
All four men say they were threatened during their time at ARC if they worked too slowly or failed to follow instructions, were cut off from the outside world and were forced to rely on ARC for survival.
Plaintiff Burkhart says he was also threatened with an arrest warrant unless he worked as instructed although he was sick at the time. After four or five weeks, he left the ARC “because he could not take the grueling, forced labor any longer,” and was taken to jail as this violated his probation.
The class action lawsuit seeks damages, including punitive damages, and reasonable attorneys’ costs.
In exchange for their work, participants are given cash “gratuity” between approximately $1 and $25 per full week of work, says the Salvation Army class action lawsuit. This low amount prevents participants from saving a significant enough amount to get back on their feet, keeping them reliant on ARC, the class action argues.
Participants must also work for food and shelter from ARC, and are supposedly limited from seeking additional paid work elsewhere, says the lawsuit.
Additionally, ARC employees allegedly regularly threaten participants with removal for failure to comply with instructions; Page says he saw participants kicked out of the program “during wintery conditions and in the middle of the night.”
The Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) program takes advantage of vulnerable individuals and profiting from exploitative labor by force and threats of harm, say four former workers in a new class action lawsuit.
Specifically, the lawsuit accuses The Salvation Army National Corporation and The Salvation Army, known as Central Territorial of The Salvation Army (SA Central Territory), of violating the Federal Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. SA Central Territory oversees The Salvation Army work in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
The lead plaintiffs are Darrell Taylor, Kevin Lewis, Darrell Burkhart, and Leevertis Page, all of whom worked in the ARC under SA Central Territory.
Taylor, Lewis, Burkhart, and Page claim they were each required to work at least eight hours per day and at least 40 hours per week for food, shelter, and “gratuity” between $1 and $25 per week.
They say their food assistance EBT cards with their SNAP benefits were confiscated upon their arrival at ARC as a “condition of [their] participation” in the program. When Page left the ARC, his EBT card was returned with a $0 balance, says the Salvation Army class action lawsuit.
All four men say they were threatened during their time at ARC if they worked too slowly or failed to follow instructions, were cut off from the outside world and were forced to rely on ARC for survival.
Plaintiff Burkhart says he was also threatened with an arrest warrant unless he worked as instructed although he was sick at the time. After four or five weeks, he left the ARC “because he could not take the grueling, forced labor any longer,” and was taken to jail as this violated his probation.
The class action lawsuit seeks damages, including punitive damages, and reasonable attorneys’ costs.
In exchange for their work, participants are given cash “gratuity” between approximately $1 and $25 per full week of work, says the Salvation Army class action lawsuit. This low amount prevents participants from saving a significant enough amount to get back on their feet, keeping them reliant on ARC, the class action argues.
Participants must also work for food and shelter from ARC, and are supposedly limited from seeking additional paid work elsewhere, says the lawsuit.
Additionally, ARC employees allegedly regularly threaten participants with removal for failure to comply with instructions; Page says he saw participants kicked out of the program “during wintery conditions and in the middle of the night.”
(post is archived)