Employer of foreign women without work permit in Switzerland

Facts

The case concerns a manager of a sauna club who employed eight foreign women without a work permit in Switzerland. The manager was convicted for employing foreign women without a work permit under Article 117 paragraph 1 of the Federal Act on Foreigners (LEtr). The facts took place between March 2009 and May 2009. The manager appealed the decision, arguing that he was not considered an employer within the meaning of the law on foreigners.

The parties involved are the manager of the sauna club, the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Canton of Zurich, and the SCC. The key dates are May 22, 2009, the date of the initial conviction, and June 10, 2011, the date of the SCC's decision.

Considerations

The SCC considered that the manager of the sauna club was indeed an employer within the meaning of the law on foreigners, as he had provided an infrastructure for the foreign women to engage in prostitution. The SCC also considered that the manager had control over the foreign women, as he could decide who had access to the club and who did not.

The SCC also examined the question of whether the manager had committed an offense under Article 116 paragraph 1 letter b of the law on foreigners, which punishes anyone who procures illegal gainful activity for a person without a work permit. However, the SCC considered that the…