struck the Louisiana Gulf Coast in August 2021, Renato Decena and Rosel Hernandez watched the storm punch a hole in the roof of the bunkhouse where they were sheltered — abandoned, they allege, by their offshore oil industry employer as the hurricane bore down.
The competing court filings at the U.S. District Court in New Orleans lay out starkly different views of life for Filipinos who work under federally granted visas at the Louisiana-based company. “We have dreams for our family and children,” Hernandez said in an email. “We want them to have a better future.”
A 15-year employee of the company, Hernandez said there was little food when he arrived at the quarantine vessel.The company denied such allegations in its counterclaim filed Oct. 10, 2022.