Two Turlock, Calif., agricultural employers reportedly shortchanged workers and transported and housed them unsafely, according to a federal investigation finding.
The investigation found that Roberto Perez Farms and Perez Bros Farms Inc. committed numerous violations of the H-2A agricultural worker program, according to a Feb. 14 U.S. Department of Labor news release.
“Agricultural employers violate basic labor laws when they reject domestic workers and instead use, abuse and steal the hard-earned wages and limited funds of guest workers,” Cesar Avila, Wage and Hour Division district director in Sacramento, said.
The Wage and Hour Division recovered $82,616 in back wages for 92 workers in the investigation and assessed an additional $36,765 in penalties against the two employers.
The employers transported workers in vehicles with bald tires and inoperable lights and housed workers in overcrowded, unsafe conditions, the Department of Labor said. The farms reportedly failed to pay workers when due, didn’t disclose employment conditions and failed to provide wage statements, which are all violations of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.
The employers did not provide the H-2A workers with at least 75 percent of the guaranteed work hours in their contracts, made illegal pay deductions and failed to pay the required rate to workers hired alongside H-2A workers, the Department of Labor said.
