A proposed class action filed this week in U.S. district court in Chicago accused the Salvation Army of violating a federal law meant to protect victims of human trafficking by subjecting participants in its drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs to “force and threats of serious harm” including “threats of incarceration, restricting workers’ physical movements away from The Salvation Army” and “financial coercion and abuse.”

The lawsuit claims that the Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Centers, which offer “work therapy,” room and board to participants in return for working at its commercial thrift stores or in support positions, violate the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA).