Indian worker gets $200,000 in damages

A United States federal jury in San Francisco has awarded $200,000 in damages to an undocumented Indian worker after he filed a complaint that his former boss and uncle refused to pay him for more than three years and instead fired him.

Macan Singh filed for emotional distress and punitive damages after his uncle Charanjit Jutla made him work for 12 hours a day, seven days a week for three and half years without pay from 1995. When Singh asked for money in early 1998, he was fired by his employer.

Singh, 33, who came to the United States with the promise of work and education and a future business partnership with Jutla, then filed a complaint with California Labour Commissioner and received a modest settlement.

However, a day after agreeing to a $70,000 settlement for back pay, his uncle reported Singh to the Immigration and Naturalization Services officials and tried to have him deported. Singh served 15 months in detention.

Singh's lawyer, Christopher Ho of the Legal Aid Society's Employment Law Centre, told the National Public Radio: "This case shows that immigrant workers, even those who are undocumented cannot be exploited by their employers without serious consequences."

Attorney for Jutla said she and her client were shocked and upset by the verdict, NPR radio reported.