Austin Preschool Settles Labor Trafficking Lawsuit for $250,000

An Austin based Spanish language immersion preschool has settled a labor trafficking lawsuit for $250,000, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Wednesday.

The settlement, which is the maximum fine for a violation of Texas’ civil anti-trafficking law, was related to a lawsuit against Austin Eco Bilingual School and its owners and operators, Adriana and Enrique Rodriguez.

The AG’s office said they “allegedly lured foreign-born employees to Texas with promises of lawful status, a decent salary, and a rewarding career, who were then trafficked for their labor.”

However, the attorney for the defendants said — in a statement to the media — that over the course of the litigation, each of the fundamental allegations in the lawsuit was proven to be either false or extremely exaggerated, and that the settlement requires no admission of wrongdoing from the school or its owners.

“We entered the settlement agreement solely for the purpose of avoiding a costly trial,” attorney Matthew Ford (of Ford O’Brien Landy, LLP) said, adding:

“The school continues to operate to this day, providing much sought-after child care services and bilingual education for the central Texas community.”

Austin TV station KXAN has more.