Class Action: 45 NY Hotel Staffing Cos. Prey on Female Immigrant Workers

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Apple Commuter Inc. is among 45 defendants in a proposed class action lawsuit filed by three plaintiffs who claim the entities violated federal and state labor laws through a “systematic pattern of preying upon and exploiting female immigrant workers, particularly ones that are undocumented.”

The 26-page complaint alleges Apple Commuter and its owner are at the top of a “multi-layered scheme” in which the self-described airport transportation and concierge staffing outfit provides services to major hotels across New York City. According to the lawsuit, proposed class members working for the defendants as concierge employees are “impossible to distinguish from other hotel personnel.”

“These indirect employment operations are simply an attempt to disguise the true nature of the employment relationships and to disassociate the hotels from compromising and actionable practices,” the lawsuit alleges.

The complaint alleges the most prominent individual defendant, Apple Commuter, provided staffing for 14 hotel defendants and their operating/owning companies. Apple Commuter’s business model, the lawsuit claims, relies on its “ability to prey upon vulnerable, newly-arrived immigrant women” whose “psyches have already been debilitated by poverty, separation from their families, and, oftentimes, years of abuse.” Proposed class members, after being lured by the defendant with promises of a better future, are allegedly forced to work “unspeakable hours” for unlawfully low wages.

“The slightest of objections are met with threats, scare tactics, and intimidation,” the lawsuit alleges, “so as to allow the defendants to continue to capitalize on these women.”

The full complaint can be read below.