A physical therapist has taken legal action against her former employer, alleging severe labor violations and exploitation. On September 17, 2024, Raylyn E. Joven filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against Access Therapies, Inc., RN Staff, Inc., jointly doing business as Rehability Care, and Manuel Garcia.
Raylyn E. Joven's lawsuit accuses her former employers of labor trafficking and unlawful withholding of wages. The complaint details how Joven, a highly trained physical therapist from the Philippines, was lured to the United States with promises of employment and immigration support but instead found herself trapped in a cycle of coercion and intimidation. According to the filing, Rehability Care operates by recruiting foreign nonimmigrant workers like Joven through deceptive practices and binding them to long-term contracts with illegal penalty clauses. These workers are then auctioned off to nursing homes under conditions that amount to involuntary servitude.
Joven alleges that during her employment from October 13, 2017, to August 14, 2020, she was subjected to threats and coercion that violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). She claims she was forced to work under conditions where she had no freedom to leave her job due to financial penalties embedded in her contract. Furthermore, Joven asserts that Rehability Care failed to pay her lawful wages for all hours worked, including overtime compensation for hours exceeding forty per week. The complaint also highlights instances where Joven's visa applications were mishandled or frivolously filed by Rehability Care’s immigration specialists, further trapping her in a precarious legal status.
The plaintiff is seeking various forms of relief from the court. These include unpaid wages, liquidated damages for both federal and state law violations, compensatory damages for forced labor under TVPRA, statutory penalties for notice violations under New York Labor Law (NYLL), pre-judgment and post-judgment interest on all amounts awarded, attorneys' fees, costs associated with bringing this action forward, and any other relief deemed just by the court.
Representing Raylyn E. Joven is Maria L. Chickedantz from Eisner Dictor & Lamadrid P.C. Case ID 1:24-cv-06515.