At 31:8 Project, our commitment to ending labor trafficking begins with a clear understanding of the problem—and that understanding is sharpened when we carefully reason through the differences between labor trafficking and labor exploitation. Labor trafficking involves deliberate coercion, fraud, or force, elements that render it not only a grave human rights abuse but also a criminal act under the law. In contrast, labor exploitation, while still unethical and often illegal, typically arises from systemic neglect or economic imbalances rather than the deliberate use of coercive tactics. This distinction is critical because it informs our approach: for trafficking cases, we must focus on immediate rescue and legal intervention, whereas cases of exploitation might require broader systemic reforms and worker protection measures. In North Dakota, where 1,260 H-2A and 94 H-2B visa holder employers operate as of February 2025, these differences become particularly salient. They highlight how diverse and pervasive the challenges are—even in regions that might otherwise be overlooked. By reasoning through these nuances, 31:8 Project can more effectively advocate for tailored solutions that both protect vulnerable workers and dismantle the networks that allow such abuses to persist.

2024 List of Good Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor

The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) maintains a list of goods and their source countries which it has reason to believe are produced by child labor or forced labor in violation of international standards, as required under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2005 and subsequent reauthorizations. The List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor comprises 204 goods from 82 countries and areas, as of September 5, 2024.

U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

• Agriculture Employment
• 8 Ways the Wage and Hour Division is Combating Human Trafficking
  
• ​CORPS - Community Outreach Resource Planning Specialists

Polaris Project

• Human Trafficking During the COVID and Post-COVID Era
• Labor Trafficking on Specific Temporary Work Visas
• Labor Exploitation and Trafficking of Agricultural Workers During the Pandemic
• Nonechka

• Fair Trade Certified​
• Fair Trade Foundation
• Ethical Fashion Guide
• Farmers and Workers | Fairtrade Foundation

VIDEOS

Viewer Discretion Advised

Trafficking in America: FRONTLINE and the Investigative Reporting Program at U.C. Berkeley tell the inside story of Guatemalan teens who were forced to work against their will on an Ohio egg farm in 2014.

Whenever you buy a product with the Fair Trade Certified™ label, farmers, workers, and fishermen earn extra money to uplift their communities. Every. Single. Time. That’s the Fair Trade Difference. Journey to the Philippines, India and Colombia to see how farmers and workers are utilizing Fair Trade to change their own lives, and find out how you can get involved in it all.

The Deadly Underground Organ Harvesters: A gritty and unflinching descent into the shadowy world of black-market organ trafficking: the street-level brokers, the rogue surgeons, the impoverished men and women who are willing to sacrifice a slice of their own bodies for a quick payday, and the desperate patients who face the agonizing choice of obeying the law or saving their lives.

U.S. Department of Labor: On January 31, 2023, the Wage and Hour Division's Southeast region hosted a virtual roundtable event to address Labor Trafficking in Agriculture.