“Everyone has a right to be safe at work and protecting workers is a top priority for us. We will continue to devote significant resources to cases involving employers who engage in unlawful behavior so that workers in Hennepin County are protected.”

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty. See full Hennepin County Attorney’s Office statement here.

December 4 Sentencing and Criminal Trial of Two Labor Brokers Demonstrate Pattern of Abuse in Construction

Labor brokers charged with criminal sex conduct, coercion and insurance fraud worked on projects of prominent developers, including United Properties, Roers Companies, Lennar Homes and others

Dozens of construction workers have come forward over the past four years to report at least nine criminal cases involving labor brokers in Minnesota, including charges of labor trafficking, criminal sexual conduct, wage theft, and more. Two of those took place on the same Lennar Homes job site in Lake Elmo, including charges of labor trafficking and criminal sex conduct. If even the second largest home construction company in the country can’t stop this type of abuse from happening on their job sites, it is clear we need a new model for labor protections. BDR offers a way to step out of the cycle of exploitation. 

On December 4, 2023, Hennepin County Attorney’s Office moved forward with two of the cases: 

• The first trial date for the State of Minnesota vs Fabian Espinosa. Espinosa is facing two felony charges (insurance fraud and coercion), and one gross misdemeanor charge (criminal sex conduct). According to the charging document, Espinosa sexually assaulted an employee, and coerced another worker into lying about the cause of a workplace injury, using immigration status as a threat to keep the worker from telling the truth. Espinosa worked on job sites of prominent developers including United Properties and the second largest homebuilder in the country – Lennar Homes. 
• Sentencing in the State of Minnesota vs Nelson Israel Lopez Giron. Giron was sentenced to two years of probation after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of insurance fraud for misrepresenting the employment status of up to 15 workers. According to the charging document, after an employee was injured by a nail in the eye, Giron advised the worker to lie about how the injury occurred, and later denied knowing the worker to avoid paying workers compensation insurance. Giron worked on job sites of prominent developers including Roers Companies and MWF.

“Today, we hope that the Hennepin County Court system sends a clear message to workers that they have the support of the legal system. In the long-term, we need systems change that ensures developers are accountable for the conditions on their projects, ensuring that labor brokers like Giron Lopez cannot exploit workers in the ways that have happened here. Construction workers in the Twin Cities have partnered with CTUL and other national organizations to create the Building Dignity and Respect Program (BDR) to do just that. We look forward to working with local, state and federal government to ensure that this type of abuse never happens again.”

Excerpt from the Community Impact Statement read at the sentencing by Carlos Garcia Velasco, Lead Organizer in the Building Dignity and Respect Campaign at CTUL.

News coverage:

“Construction contractor sentenced to 2 years probation following worker injury,” Max Nesterak, Minnesota Reformer, December 4, 2023

“Probation for Princeton contractor who denied aid to man injured by nail in eye,” Dee Depass, Star Tribune, December 5, 2023

Gender-based violence runs rampant in the non-union construction industry. A recent survey found 57% of female identifying construction workers were either sometimes or frequently sexually harassed. Instances range from occasional unwelcome comments or touches to more severe incidents. The vast majority of cases have never come to light. In fact, experts estimate nationally that 2 out of 3 instances of rape are not reported, and amongst vulnerable, low-wage immigrant women that ratio is likely even higher. 

Workers in these two cases came to Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha (CTUL) to seek justice. Together with dozens of other construction workers who are members of CTUL, they have worked with local and national organizations to establish the Building Dignity and Respect (BDR) Program. BDR is an independent monitoring program designed to ensure basic labor rights in construction in the Twin Cities metro area, including the right to a workplace free from sexual harassment and sexual assault. Under the program, any worker who experiences harassment or coercion will have the right to file a complaint with an independent monitoring body, which will investigate the complaint and impose remedies. Remedies can include requiring that the abuser be fired immediately, and not allowing the abuser to work on the projects of any developer that has signed into the program.

BDR is built on the Worker-driven Social Responsibility (WSR) model, which has transformed working conditions in some of the most abusive industries in the world, including the Lesotho Agreement aimed at ending gender-based violence in apparel factories. Last year, workers launched the BDR campaign with a mass march through downtown Minneapolis, calling on three multi-family developers to join the program: United Properties, Solhem, and Yellow Tree.