Human trafficking suit spreads to Hindu temples in 5 states

By DAVID PORTER
Associated Press

A lawsuit in which workers accuse a Hindu organization of human trafficking for luring them from India to build a temple in New Jersey for as little as $1.20 a day has widened to four other states. In an amended lawsuit filed last month, workers claim they were exploited at temples in California, Illinois, Texas and Georgia. In the initial lawsuit filed in New Jersey in May, the workers say they came from marginalized communities and were coerced into signing employment agreements. The workers at the temples in the other states say they were paid well below minimum wage.