Drafter
Clerk 08/25/2016
Title
AN ORDINANCE establishing a task force on labor trafficking and economic exploitation and requiring a report with recommendations on the steps the county can take in addressing systematic issues related to labor trafficking and economic exploitation.
Body
PREAMBLE:
King County is the thirteenth-largest and second-fastest-growing county in the United States. The county's rapid population growth is in great part attributed to first-generation immigrants from around the world, pursuing economic opportunities and better lives for themselves and their families. Because of its many marinas, airports, Interstate 5 and Interstate 90 freeways, King County has been the economic hub for the State, where very large numbers of imported and exported goods pass through to engage in international trades and transactions. Washington is the most trade-dependent state and is located equidistant between Asia and Europe.
Washington State Law defines "human trafficking" or "trafficking" as an act conducted for the purpose of exploitation, including forced labor, by particular means, for example, threat of use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud or deception, abuse of power, or abuse of position of vulnerability.
Washington is considered to be a "hot spot" in an international trafficking circuit. Human trafficking is the world's second-largest and fastest-growing underground economy.
Although there are extensive studies to assess the issue of sex trafficking in Washington state, and there has been a concerted effort on behalf of King County to address the local issue of sex trafficking and domestic sexual exploitation, very little is known about the issue of labor trafficking and exploitation in Washington state, nor the impact King County's economy, commercial exchanges and procurement policies have on labor trafficking and economic exploitation of domestic and international workers.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY...

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