The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division continues to push to educate agricultural industry employers about compliance while also teaching workers about their rights under federal law.
According to a Feb. 28 news release, the agency saw an almost $1 million annual increase in recovered back wages for agricultural industry employees in the southeast last year.
“Most agricultural industry workers spend long hours on their feet, exposed to all kinds of weather as they do the hard work needed to put food on our tables, yet they are some of the country’s lowest paid workers," Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Juan Coria said in the release. "When unscrupulous employers try to increase their profits at the expense of workers' dignity, respect and – in some cases – freedom, the Wage and Hour Division will use every available tool to hold these employers accountable."
On top of the WHD's compliance efforts and worker education initiation, the agency plans to keep up with enforcement efforts in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, according to the release.
The release noted investigators in the southeast region found violations in 85% of the 220 completed investigations into agricultural employers in 2022. The reviews discovered more than $2.6 million in back wages were owed to about 2,900 workers. Additionally, $1.7 million in civil penalties were assessed.
In an effort to keep up with the momentum on this project, Wage and Hour Division and other stakeholders will team up to "instill greater industry awareness and provide tools to improve compliance." The division also plans to host a virtual agriculture seminar for employers and workers March 7.
Under federal law, the division can suspend, revoke or withhold the renewal of farm labor certificates for contractors found to have committed Migrant Seasonal Protection Act violations, the release stated. Before contracting for workers, the division encourages employers to familiarize themselves with the ineligible farm labor contractor and H-2A debarment lists.
