One of the most prevalent misconceptions about human trafficking, often reinforced by the unilateral representation of trafficking in Hollywood and in the media, is that sex trafficking of women and girls is the most common type of human trafficking. However, as the complicated and widespread nature of trafficking has become more widely acknowledged, experts have found labor trafficking to be much more prevalent than sex trafficking worldwide. One of the most overlooked examples of labor trafficking worldwide is the exploitation that occurs in the restaurant industry.

According to a report by Northeastern University investigating the experiences of victims of labor trafficking, 12% of labor trafficking cases took place in the hospitality industry, and 12% of human trafficking suspects had exploited others in the restaurant industry. A job in the food service industry turns into trafficking when force, fraud, or coercion is used by the employer or recruiter to intimidate workers and to convince them that they do not have any choice but to continue working. Elements such as misrepresentation of the work and working conditions, fake contracts, intentionally exhausting hours, threats, and underpayment of wages are common in cases of labor exploitation. 

Low-income individuals and those without citizenship or legal residence are especially vulnerable to labor trafficking. An economic disadvantage can introduce the need to accept any job, an element that traffickers use to their advantage by creating promising (but false) offers. On top of this, according to the International Organization for Migration, migrant workers may often be fleeing conflict and violent situations, making them isolated from their community and family support structures. Therefore, access to social protection, legal status, and legitimate forms of employment can be limited.

For restaurants scrambling to save on employment costs, utilizing migrant labor can be a tempting way to save money. According to a study investigating exploitative migrant labor in Nordic and Baltic countries by the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, these cost-saving measures can lead to various outcomes for migrant workers. At the milder end of the scale, permanent contracts may be avoided, which means migrant workers are expected to have a high degree of flexibility. At worst, migrants can face forced labor. 

The European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control’s study also reported that, in many exploitation cases in Finland, workers are recruited via relatives or through word-of-mouth as opposed to employment service companies. This can make it easier for the exploiters to remain under the radar, as no official recruitment methods are used.

In the 2015 report by Northeastern University investigating labor trafficking in the US, both widely organized networks and loosely coupled networks were reported as suspects in court cases of labor trafficking. Interestingly, the same report noted that organized crime groups only directly appeared in a handful of these cases. Perpetrators can, therefore, be based in either large, coordinated organizations or small networks of individuals. 

In both Finland and Sweden, restaurants were reported to have demanded recruitment fees from migrant workers, meaning they had to pay to be accepted into the job. This, in turn, set migrant workers up for large amounts of debt that they now owed their employers. Similarly to the Nordic countries, recruitment agencies in the Netherlands often introduced fees for job offers for migrant workers as well. In addition to this, increasingly strict migration regulations have made some migrants more likely to arrive in new countries by costly and dangerous methods, possibly leaving them in very large debts to their smugglers or traffickers. The workers would then be working to pay off their debt, indicating that they could be severely underpaid or not paid at all for their work. 

Labor exploitation can easily turn into exploitation of other parts of the victims’ lives as well; traffickers in the restaurant business can quickly begin possessing massive power over their employees, as migrant workers’ source of income, food, and housing can all depend on their employers. In some cases, the workers’ passports are confiscated by traffickers, which illustrates the complete lack of independence workers may face. 

Exploitation in the restaurant business can take various forms, but the consensus in the reports is clear: a deeper understanding of labor trafficking is needed. Although awareness may be increasing, a lack of public understanding and discussion of labor trafficking is still evident. This can be reflected in the lack of adequate information available for migrant workers on their rights and acceptable working conditions. Preventative measures need to be taken to target labor exploitation in all its forms, along with equal labor rights for workers from all backgrounds.