05:58 PM EST, 01/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- GEO Group ( GEO ) said Thursday it will "vigorously" pursue all available avenue of appeal following an unfavorable decision from the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in a case alleging violations of Washington state's Minimum Wage Act.

The appeals court upheld verdicts by a lower court and a jury finding the prisons operator liable for unlawful labor practices involving immigrant detainees at Tacoma's Northwest Detention Center, including paying detainee workers $1 a day, or far below Washington's minimum wage.

GEO said it is currently reviewing Thursday's court decision and reiterates its position that participants in the federally mandated Voluntary Work Program at the Tacoma ICE Facility aren't GEO employees.

Washington's Office of the Attorney General said in a statement that the appeals court's decision "requires GEO to pay all its workers at least Washington's minimum wage and pay the $23.2 million in judgments."