Geo Group, Inc. v. Menocal

In 2014, Alejandro Menocal and other civil immigration detainees held at the Aurora, Colorado detention facility operated by GEO Group, Inc. filed a class action lawsuit. They alleged that GEO forced them to perform essential facility work such as cleaning, kitchen tasks, and maintenance, paying them as little as one dollar per day or nothing, in violation of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Colorado Minimum Wage Act. The district court certified a class. The Tenth Circuit held that detainees were not employees under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act but allowed state law claims to proceed. GEO petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, which granted certiorari. On February 25, 2026, the Supreme Court heard oral argument on whether private prison operators must pay state minimum wages to immigration detainees performing work.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument on February 25, 2026; no final decision has been issued as of that date.

Whether immigration detainees held in private facilities are employees entitled to state minimum wage protections and whether federal law preempts state labor claims against private prison contractors.

The case could determine labor rights for tens of thousands of immigration detainees and financial liability for private prison companies, influencing ICE contracting and detention conditions nationwide.