Human Trafficking

You have rights at work. You should not be forced or tricked to take a job or stay at a job. You should not be expected, required, or forced to have sex or do sex acts for money as part of your job. These are some examples of human trafficking.

Knowing how to recognize possible human trafficking may help you avoid it. Learn more about how to protect yourself from possible trafficking situations, and how to stay safe when you move somewhere new for work. Find out how you can get help if you or a friend or family member need it, and read about examples of the EEOC’s work to help stop trafficking and assist victims..

Human trafficking is a crime that involves forcing, pressuring, or tricking someone to work or to do sex acts for something of value, like money, food, or housing. It is also illegal to let someone under 18 do sex acts for money or something else of value as part of a job, even if the person isn’t forced, pressured, or tricked.

For example, it may be human trafficking if your employer:

• refuses to pay you or pays you less than other workers;
• charges you unreasonable amounts of money for food, transportation, housing, or supplies;  
• restricts your movement - refuses to let you leave where you work or live; or
• makes you work instead of going to school.

Human traffickers may also break employment laws enforced by the EEOC. For example, it may be illegal for your employer to treat you differently because of your sex, race, or national origin by:

• harassing you;
• refusing to pay you or paying you less than workers of other genders, races, or national origins;
• punishing or threatening to punish you unless you date or sleep with your boss;
• charging you unreasonable amounts of money for food, transportation, housing, or supplies;
• limiting the types of work you can do;
• applying different rules to you; or
• restricting your movement - refusing to let you leave where you work or live.

It is illegal for your employer to punish or threaten to punish you for complaining about job discrimination.

If some of these things have happened to you, you may have been trafficked.

For more information about human trafficking, visit:

• EEOC Human Trafficking website: https://www.eeoc.gov/human-trafficking
• Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Blue Campaign website (information about common signs of trafficking and immigration options available to trafficking survivors): https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign
  • DHS Blue Campaign’s College and University Toolkit: https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/17_1113_OPE_Blue-Campaign_student-adv-toolkit.pdf
• Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Child Eligibility Letters (benefits and services for foreign national youth in the U.S. who have experienced human trafficking): https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/victim-assistance/child-eligibility-letters
• HHS Native Youth Toolkit on Human Trafficking: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ana/training-technical-assistance/native-youth-toolkit-human-trafficking
• HHS Look Beneath the Surface Campaign (information about human trafficking and risk factors): https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/partnerships/look-beneath-surface
• HHS Voices of Freedom Initiative (stories of human trafficking survivors): https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/partnerships/voices
• Department of Justice Human Trafficking website: https://www.justice.gov/humantrafficking
• National Human Trafficking Hotline website: https://humantraffickinghotline.org/