A federal lawsuit, still pending against CAAIR and Simmons, has detailed how some participants were allegedly pressured to work when injured, compelled to attend religious services, and threatened with imprisonment if their work was unsatisfactory.

CAAIR, participants alleged in court, did not always provide necessary rehabilitative or psychiatric treatment, the kind that Walker has emphasized when he shares his personal story and advocates for people suffering from mental illness. CAAIR described its services in court filings as “a combination of work therapy and spiritual and religious counseling.”

“If you’re working full-time in a chicken facility, you don’t have enough hours in the day to complete a full program,” said Snider, explaining that “talking to professional counselors” and “being set up with real educational advancement opportunities and skills training” must be included. “There’s a lot more components than working 12 hours a day cleaning chickens,” she said.

Nonetheless, a trial court judge in 2020 rejected participants’ assertions that the program violated federal labor law. CAAIR, the court ruled, remains a permissible component of the state criminal justice system. Participants’ appeal is pending.

Source: Senate Candidate’s Chicken Firm Tied to Benefits from Unpaid Labor | Food Manufacturing