Maryland Housekeeper Sues Employers for Slave Labor

While some realtors are off fighting human trafficking, another is being sued this week by her housekeeper for slave labor. Janet Gonzalez, a 55-year-old legal immigrant from Venezuela, alleges that real estate agent Belinda Caron, along with husband James and daughter Brittany, forced her to stay in their Dickerson, MD, home and work seven days a week for four full months without pay.

The Carons, of course, deny any allegations of slave labor, and when Janet was rescued from her place of employ by Casa de Maryland, detectives could not verify that human trafficking had occurred there. No charges were filed. Janet felt differently about the situation, however, and is now seeking triple damages for her unpaid time and seclusion washing clothes and cleaning house for the Carons.

According to the lawsuit, it went down like this: The Carons posted an ad with our BFF Craigslist, seeking a Spanish-speaking person to do laundry and clean house. Gonzalez, who lived in nearby D.C., responded to the ad and accepted employment, understanding that she would receive rides to and from the Metro station 16 miles away from the Caron home. Gonzalez did not otherwise have means of transportation back to her apartment each night. The Carons were not, apparently, willing to supply said transportation and instead kept Janet at their house for a seemingly endless series of days, cooking, cleaning, and laundering. They said they would pay her, but never did, and threatened to have her arrested if she complained. Eventually, not having returned home, the housekeeper lost her apartment.

Janet had limited access to phone and computers, and no one she felt comfortable contacting, anyway. Would police even see her side of the story? But one day she caught a show about human trafficking on T.V., recognized her own situation and was able to sneak in a phone call to the hotline. Casa de Maryland later showed up on the Carons’ doorstep and Janet was finally free.

Regardless of whether Janet is successful in her case against the Carons, it’s significant to note that she did fit the profile of a person vulnerable to human trafficking. Emigrating from another country, she would experience communication barriers in the form of language and culture, perhaps not understanding police to be a potential ally. Additionally, Janet did not appear to have a large or significant network of support; it would be easy to cut her off from her life without a lot of people noticing.

And it’s also important to realize that keeping domestic slaves in the U.S. is not unheard of. Find the right candidate – maybe someone like Janet Gonzalez – and it might even be easy. Particularly since this crime is often just as overlooked, denied and dismissed as its victims. If you suspect that someone is being kept as a domestic slave, please call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-3737-888, on behalf of the person who might be unable to call herself.

Photo credit: DanBrady