Clinic Represents Three Immigrant Children in Lawsuit Alleging Exploitative Child Labor Practices and Hazardous Conditions
Three immigrant children filed a federal lawsuit on Sept. 24 against Raw Seafoods, Inc., alleging that the company forced the plaintiffs to work through perilous, overnight shifts in its seafood processing plant in Fall River, Massachusetts.
The children are represented by students and faculty from the Worker and Immigrant Rights and Advocacy Clinic (WIRAC) at Yale Law School and Justice at Work, a Massachusetts-based workers’ rights legal nonprofit.
A leading wholesale seafood supplier in New England, Raw Seafoods says it promotes responsible seafood practices, offers a “No Bullsh*t Policy” of relationships built on “trust, reliability [and] transparency,” and promises its customers, “we have your back.” But according to the complaint, Raw Seafoods profited off exploiting children by willfully employing the then-15-year-old plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs, M.R., Y.O., and S.S. have brought the lawsuit to ensure that no other children experience the same unjust and illegal mistreatment, and that no other companies profit by exploiting vulnerable youth, according to the clinic.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, alleges that Raw Seafoods, its owners, and management violated the children’s rights under state and federal labor law, federal civil rights law, and international human rights law.
“Raw Seafoods is among countless other companies that exploit the vulnerable community of immigrant children with impunity,” said WIRAC clinic member Marí Perales Sánchez ’25. “This country cannot allow powerful companies to use and abuse children as a business model. We encourage the federal and state governments to act to protect all members of our communities.”
Despite their avowed commitments to socially responsible business practices, the lawsuit says the defendants extracted child labor from the plaintiffs and subjected them to coercion, psychological abuse, hazardous workplace conditions, and a discriminatory work environment.
According to the complaint, plaintiffs were required to work nine to 11 hour shifts in dangerous factory conditions, leaving them only two to three hours of sleep at night, and either interfered with their ability to attend school or prevented them from attending school outright. The lawsuit asserts that the children were exposed to toxic materials, prolonged freezing temperatures, and dangerous machinery that threatened severe physical injury.
“I remember being so tired and afraid of saying anything. I was 15. I had rashes all over my body all the time because of the work with the cleaning chemicals. In school, I couldn’t write the next day because my hands were freezer-burned from work. They often shook, so I couldn’t hold a pencil. I don’t think it’s okay for anyone to experience that,” said plaintiff S.S.
The complaint also asserts that the defendants illegally discriminated against the plaintiffs based on their ethnicity, assigning them more difficult and dangerous work and subjecting them to racist insults and other verbal abuse.
“I hope others in similar situations see this and know not to be afraid, to speak with whoever you need to talk to, and not continue suffering because of the injustices that affect you,” said plaintiff M.R.
The plaintiffs first raised their voices against the alleged abuse they suffered at Raw Seafoods with the help of New Bedford-based workers’ rights center Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores (CCT), which has supported other seafood processing workers in demanding dignity both at Raw Seafoods and across the industry. The U.S. Department of Labor has previously investigated Raw Seafoods for workplace safety and labor violations at its plants, according to the clinic.
“Raw Seafoods has a history of not listening to workers’ complaints. In general, human resources in the industry don’t stand up for human rights. Seafood processing is too dangerous and poorly managed for any minors to be working. It’s time for these companies to be made responsible for what happens under their watch. The law is harsh against workers — we are treated with suspicion and criminalized day to day — both at work and on the street. The owners, on the other hand, get away with allowing abuse and harassment and breaking the law,” said Adrian Ventura, Executive Director of CCT.
“State and federal laws prohibiting minors from working in dangerous jobs have been on the books for decades,” said Pablo Carrasco, Senior Staff Attorney, Justice at Work. “Despite these laws, seafood processors rely on minors for cheap and replaceable labor. Pescando Justicia, a committee of seafood processing plant workers supported by the CCT and Justice at Work, remains steadfast in their opposition to minors in seafood processing. In 2020, Pescando Justicia invited seafood processors to follow the Code of Conduct, which establishes baseline standards for seafood processors to abide by and includes the prohibition of the employment of minors in seafood processing. Retailers who buy seafood, including large national grocery chains, can be assured that if their seafood supplier has adopted the Code of Conduct, their supply chains are fully compliant.”
“M.R., Y.O., and S.S. have shown immense bravery — beyond what should ever be expected or required of their age — in standing up to their abusers at Raw Seafoods. Our team is grateful that they have trusted us to support them as they seek justice against a systemic pattern of abuse that extends well beyond Raw Seafoods,” said WIRAC clinic member Zoë Mermelstein ’26.
About Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores (CCT): Founded in 2006, Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores (CCT) is dedicated to empowering immigrant workers in New Bedford, MA, by advocating for their rights, providing educational resources, and building a supportive community. Its goal is to ensure that every worker enjoys the dignity, safety, and opportunities they deserve.
About Justice at Work (JAW): Justice at Work is a multilanguage legal services nonprofit based in Boston that, since 2011, has provided direct legal services, worker rights training, and strategic counsel to organizations of workers in low-paying jobs.
About the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic (WIRAC) at Yale Law School: Students in WIRAC are committed to representing immigrants, low-wage workers, and their organizations in labor, immigration, criminal justice, civil rights, and other matters. The clinic docket includes cases at all stages of legal proceedings in Immigration Court, the Board of Immigration Appeals, U.S. District Court, the Second Circuit, and before Connecticut state agencies and courts. WIRAC has collaborated with Justice at Work and CCT extensively on related labor rights abuses experienced by migrant workers in the Massachusetts seafood processing industry in the past decade.
