NY Immigrant Detainee Labor Dispute Heads to State High Court

New York’s highest court will have to answer whether the state’s minimum wage law applies to immigrant detainees at a facility near Buffalo who are paid $1 a day to do work for private prison contractor Akima Global Services.

The Court of Appeals’ answer will help “materially advance resolution” in a class action brought by detainees at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, Judge Anne Nardacci of the US District Court for the Northern District of New York wrote Friday. The case is now on hold pending the state court’s review.

The plaintiffs allege Akima’s administration of the voluntary ...