A California labor contractor and six farming businesses have been sued in a major human-trafficking case.

The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) has sued Los Angeles-based Global Horizons and six Hawaiian farming companies for recruiting more than 200 people from Thailand and forcing them to work in horrible conditions. The EEOC says the workers received little pay after their passports were taken from them, and they were forced to live off little food in housing infested with insects and rats. Global Horizons also sent workers to two farms in Washington state.

A California labor contractor and six farming businesses have been sued in a major human-trafficking case.

The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) has sued Los Angeles-based Global Horizons and six Hawaiian farming companies for recruiting more than 200 people from Thailand and forcing them to work in horrible conditions. The EEOC says the workers received little pay after their passports were taken from them, and they were forced to live off little food in housing infested with insects and rats. Global Horizons also sent workers to two farms in Washington state.