court concluded that this conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, and 42 U.S.C. Section 1981, because the treatment was based on the national origin of the foreign workers. Regional Attorney Canino added, “This case is a prime example of where the purposes of the U.S. anti-discrimination laws and immigration laws converge to protect both American and foreign workers with needed skills. American companies would be undermined by unfair competition if employers like JPC were allowed to engage in illegal schemes to obtain cheap foreign labor.” Judge Eagan’s 71-page decision followed two earlier trials and prior “Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law” issued in August 2004. The EEOC’s lawsuit was joined with a related civil action which had been filed by the workers on their own behalf alleging false imprisonment, minimum wage violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), deceit, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. (Chellen et al. and EEOC v. John Pickle Company, Inc., Case No. 02-CV-0085-CVE-FHM [Base File] and 02-CV-0979-CVE-FHM [Consolidated] in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma). The total damages awarded by the Court addressed the claims in both the government’s suit and the private action. Aftermath In 2007, more than a year after the trial, the EEOC again pulled the John Pickle Co. into court, claiming that the company and its owner transferred assets to avoid paying the judgment to the claimants. The petition requested that a lien be placed on the company's assets to pay off the judgment. Journalist and author John Bowe wrote and published a book in 2007 that tells the story of these proceedings and other instances of borderline slavery in modern America entitled, Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy. Bowe also appeared on the radio program This American Life, on November 30, 2007 (episode 344), talking about the Indian workers at John Pickle Company. References External links The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Press Release Coverage of the story on the radio show This American Life Companies based in Tulsa, Oklahoma