A Miami law firm has filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, alleging that the firm coerced crew members on its ships to work without pay and failed to promptly repatriate them to their home countries.
The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Miami on behalf of plaintiff Dragan Janicijevic, a Serbian citizen who worked on the Grand Classica cruise ship, and others in the same situation.
“When the COVID pandemic halted all sailings (in March), defendants forced all crew members aboard the ship to sign a document stating they were voluntarily staying onboard, without pay,” the Aug. 4 complaint states. “The crew members were forced to sign these agreements by being threatened that they would not be rehired if they did not sign.”
The lawsuit alleges that this treatment of the workers amounts to forced labor or peonage.
“It’s unique to have the situation where they’re forcing them to work without pay,” Michael Winkleman, a maritime attorney with Lipcon, Margulies, Alsina & Winkleman P.A., told the Florida Record.
The employees’ contracts with the cruise line require the company to pay the plaintiffs two months of compensation or a basic pay severance once the defendants terminate the employment contract, according to the complaint.
The issue of repatriation is a more general problem that affects many such companies, Winkleman said.
“Cruise-industry-wide, there has been a major problem with being able to efficiently get crew members home,” he said. “Unfortunately, there are crew members across the major cruise lines that are still stuck on these cruise ships.”
The complaint specifically mentions personnel on two Bahamas Paradise ships, the Grand Celebration and the Grand Classica. The defendants are also accused of not providing crew members with personal protective equipment or practicing social distancing while workers were held on the Grand Celebration.
“These are crew members that are trapped on these ships thousands of miles away from their families, and all they want to do is get home,” Winkleman said.
Bahamas Paradise did not comment specifically about the allegations in the lawsuit. “Out of respect to the legal process and the privacy of those involved, we will not be commenting publicly on this matter,” a company statement emailed to the Florida Record said.
The company had announced that it would be reopening its cruising business this month, but the extension of a no-sail order by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has forced Bahamas Paradise to delay a resumption of operations until at least Oct. 1.