Menocal v. GEO Group, Inc.

320 F.R.D. 258, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36039, 2017 WL 880882
District Court, D. Colorado·Decided February 27, 2017·No. Civil Action No. 14-cv-02887-JLK·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION UNDER RULE 23(b)(3) AND APPOINTMENT OF CLASS COUNSEL UNDER RULE 23(g) (ECF NO. 49)

Kane, J.

Plaintiffs Alejandro Menoeal, Marcos Brambila, Grisel Xahuentitla, Hugo Hernandez, Lourdes Argueta, Jesus Gaytan, Olga Alexaklina, Dagoberto Vizguerra, and Deme-trio Valerga (Representatives) are current and former detainees of the Aurora Detention Facility (Facility), a private immigration detention center in Aurora, Colorado, owned and operated by Defendant The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO). Representatives originally brought three claims against GEO for: (1) noncompliance with the Colorado Minimum Wages of Workers Act, Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 8-6-101, et seq.\ (2) violations of the forced labor provision of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1589, 1595; and (3) unjust enrichment. Representatives brought the claims on their own behalf and on behalf of proposed classes of similarly-situated current and former detainees of the Facility. GEO moved to dismiss the claims, and I granted its motion as to only the Colorado minimum wage claim. Representatives now seek certification of the proposed classes for their remaining TVPA and unjust enrichment claims.

Although Representatives and putative class members have diverse backgrounds, their circumstances are uniquely suited for a class action. All share the experience of having been detained in the Facility and subjected to uniform policies that purposefully eliminate nonconformity. The questions posed in this case are complex and novel, but the answers to those questions can be provided on a classwide basis. Appreciating that the class action is “a valuable tool to circumvent the barriers to the pursuit of justice,” Alba Conte & Herbert Newberg, Newberg on Class Actions § 26:24 (4th ed.), I GRANT the Motion for Class Certification Under Rule 23(b)(3) and Appointment of Class Counsel under Rule 23(g) (ECF No, 49).

I. Background

Representatives take issue with two aspects of GEO’s operation of the Aurora Detention Facility. First, they allege that, in carrying out its Housing Unit Sanitation Policy, GEO violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act by requiring detainees to clean the private and common areas of the Facility without any compensation and under the threat of solitary confinement and other punishments. Second, they claim that GEO was unjustly enriched by paying detainees who participated in its Voluntary Work Program (VWP) only $1 per day.

[262] GEO, a for-profit, multinational corporation, operates the Facility pursuant to a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE’s Performance Based National Detention Standards mandate that all detainees perform personal housekeeping. Specifically,

[djetainees are required to maintain their immediate living areas in a neat and orderly manner by: 1. making their bunk beds daily; 2. stacking loose papers; 8. keeping the floor free of debris and dividers free of clutter; and j. refraining from hanging/draping clothing, pictures, keepsakes, or other objects from beds, overhead lighting fixtures or other furniture.

Def.’s Opp. Class Certification Ex. 2 at 15-16, ECF No. 51-2. GEO combined these responsibilities with portions of the American Correctional Association standards and its own corporate policy to develop the Facility’s Housing Unit Sanitation Policy, which has been in effect since 1995. Mot. Class Certification Ex. 1 at 15:23-25, 27:9-14, 86:22-37:3, ECF No. 50-1. Representatives claim that the detainees’ compulsory duties under the Sanitation Policy, such as sweeping and mopping floors and cleaning toilets and showers, fall outside the scope of ICE’s personal housekeeping requirement. The GEO Detainee Handbook Local Supplement, with which all detainees at the Facility are provided, states that failure to perform one’s duties under the Sanitation Policy is a “high-moderate” offense for which detainees can be punished by the initiation of criminal proceedings, termination from them jobs, and up to 72 hours in disciplinary segregation, among other sanctions. Mot. Class Certification Ex. 1 at 29:13-30:2, 79:13-25; Ex. 4 at 18, 26, ECF No. 50-3. Representatives and other detainees were aware of the Sanitation Policy during their detention and claim that they performed the required duties to avoid solitary confinement. See Mot. Class Certification Ex. 5 ¶3, ECF No. 49-2; Ex. 6 ¶3, ECF No. 49-3; Ex. 7 ¶3, ECF No. 49^; Ex. 8 ¶ 3, ECF No. 49-5; Ex. 9 ¶ 3, ECF No. 49-6; Ex. 10 ¶3, ECF No. 49-7; Ex. 11 ¶3, ECF No. 49-8; Ex. 12 ¶3, ECF No. 49-9. Based on these allegations, Representatives assert that the labor performed by detainees at the Facility pursuant to the Sanitation Policy is forced labor in violation of the TVPA. They request that I certify a TVPA class of “[a]ll persons detained in Defendant’s Aurora Detention Facility in the ten years prior to the filing of this action.” Mot. Class Certification at 10, ECF No. 49.

Separately, GEO offers a Voluntary Work Program that allows detainees to work in various positions around the Facility and earn $1 per day. As part of the program, detainees perform tasks such as maintaining the on-site medical facility, doing laundry, preparing meals, and cleaning the Facility. ICE’s Performance Based National Detention Standards require that detainees be compensated “at least $1.00 (USD) per day” for work completed under the facility’s VWP. Mot. Dismiss, Ex. 1 at 5, ECF No. 11-1. Representatives allege that GEO misled VWP participants to believe it could pay them no more than $1 per day under the ICE standards. Representatives also stress that GEO employs only a single outside custodian and that detainees are unable to seek other employment in a competitive market. Mot. Class Certification at 9. As a result, they claim that GEO derives significant economic benefit from its VWP and has been unjustly enriched because of it. Representatives propose certification of an unjust enrichment class comprised of “[a]ll people who performed work [at] Defendant’s Aurora Detention Facility under Defendant’s [Voluntary Work Program] Policy in the three years prior to the filing of this action.”

II. Legal Standard

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Menocal v. GEO Group, Inc., 320 F.R.D. 258, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36039, 2017 WL 880882 (D. Colo. 2017).

320 F.R.D. 258 (Menocal v. GEO Group, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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