Lawsuits allege Cenikor sent rehab patients to work at Louisiana chemical plants, LSU without pay

The Cenikor Foundation, a drug rehab with a Baton Rouge facility, has been hit with lawsuits alleging the organization funneled patients to work at local chemical plants and the LSU student union without paying them, less than a week after an investigative report was published with similar findings.

The rehab sent patients to do things like put up scaffolding at petrochemical plants and make king cakes at local bakeries, all without pay, according to the two lawsuits and a lawyer representing a former patient.

The lawsuits represent the first of many claims expected to come forth in light of an investigation into the Texas-based rehab by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting published last week, lawyers say. In the report, former patients and employees of the Texas-based Cenikor described a rehab that sends patients to work often 10-hour days at large private employers, leaving little time for counseling or treatment.

One of the two suits claim Cenikor sent a former patient to work at the LSU student union and cafeteria and withheld the patient's pay.

Read more: https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_f4b27306-6d27-11e9-825e-d72de0c28979.html