The action alleges that the savings and property rights of thousands of American citizens and permanent U.S. residents who played a key role in the construction and development of the modern day Saudi Arabia are being wrongfully withheld. Many workers, including named plaintiff John W. Peterson, were allegedly enticed to Saudi Arabia by favorable employment packages, which included General Organization of Social Insurance benefits and an annuity system based on an employee-employer contribution. Now, thousands of those workers are allegedly being denied money that is rightfully theirs.

Mr. Peterson, who now lives in Virginia, lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for 11 years, employed by a number of engineering and construction companies. Like thousands of other highly skilled workers from the U.S. and other western nations, Mr. Peterson and his employers made mandatory contributions to
the General Organization of Social Insurance system, with the anticipation of a payment of the annuity when their work in Saudi Arabia was complete.

The General Organization of Social Insurance was established by the Saudis in 1969. Contributions, which were mandatory for private employers and their employees, were calculated as 13% of the total value of an employee's wages and benefits. The employee's contribution was five percent; the employer's contribution, made in the employee's name, was eight percent. From the program's inception, Mr. Peterson and other U.S. citizens and permanent U.S. residents involved in the pension program understood the Saudi Government intended to distribute General Organization of Social Insurance benefits to non-Saudi workers in their home country, upon the completion of their contracts and return to their country of origin. In March 1987, the Saudi government issued a decree excluding non-Saudi workers from the General Organization of Social Insurance, devastating for foreign workers' expectations.

Mr. Peterson worked in Saudi Arabia until 1990. Upon his return to the United States, he allegedly sought to recover the money that had been placed in his name. In 1990, he allegedly received a check for five percent--his own contribution to the General Organization of Social Insurance plan. The remaining eight percent, based on the employer's contribution, has allegedly been withheld, despite his frequent attempts to glean information about its disposition.

This action is the largest ever filed against Saudi Arabia, both in terms of the number of class members and the billions of dollars owed to them. Since the action was filed late last month, American workers from Florida to Texas to Oregon have made it known they wish to press their case for fair compensation from the Saudi government.

Saudi Arabia has relied and continues to rely heavily on the labor of millions of foreign workers in its development. Despite the heightened security concerns in the Kingdom, it is estimated that there are approximately 35,000 Americans living in Saudi Arabia, contributing to its economic development. The vast amount of money belonging to American workers in the General Organization of Social Insurance has allegedly been borrowed by the Saudi government. The remaining funds are invested by the General Organization of Social Insurance in various domestic Saudi corporations, international banks and organizations. While General Organization of Social Insurance assets have grown to tens of billions of dollars, Mr. Peterson and thousands of others are made to wait for simple justice--return of their funds and a fair compensation for the delay.