Guest workers awarded $14M

NEW ORLEANS – Five Indian guest workers were awarded $14.1 million by a federal jury Wednesday on claims they were defrauded and made to live in squalid conditions after being lured to work in Pascagoula, Miss., following Hurricane Katrina. More than 200 other workers' claims are pending against Signal International LLC of Mobile, Ala., a marine and fabrication company. The suit claimed Signal falsely promised to help the workers apply for and receive greens cards. But the plaintiffs said they were the victims of a labor-trafficking scheme by Signal, an immigration lawyer and an Indian labor recruiter. The trial is the first in a series of suits spearheaded by the Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center. The company said it disagrees with the ruling and is evaluating all of its options, including an appeal. (Sources: multiple, including AP via Sun Herald, Mississippi Press, 02/18/15)