Since 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor has reported an increase in wage theft by customs brokers and logistics companies near the Mexican border. Recent investigations in San Diego have recovered nearly $840,000 for 32 employees, some of whom were paid less than $3 per hour.
The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Ruffo de Alba Forwarders LP, SAI Logistics Exports Inc., and Moving Technologies of America Inc. violated several provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
“The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to continuing its years-long effort to bring the customs broker, warehouse and logistics industry into compliance with the federal workplace guarantees of minimum wage and overtime,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Marc Pilotin in San Francisco. “Far too many employees who work in these cross-border operations continue to be cheated out of their lawful wages under U.S. law.”
Investigators found specific violations by each employer:
Ruffo de Alba Forwarders LP failed to pay a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and denied overtime pay for hours over 40 in a workweek to employees traveling from Mexico to the U.S., paying as little as $3.27 per hour in Mexican pesos. A consent judgment ordered Ruffo de Alba Forwarders and owner Andres Ruffo to pay 14 workers $222,899 in wages owed and an equal amount in damages totaling $445,798, along with $8,645 in penalties.
SAI Logistics Experts Inc. also failed to meet federal minimum wage requirements and denied overtime wages, paying workers as little as $3.86 per hour in Mexican pesos. The court ordered SAI to pay $318,249 in wages and damages owed to 13 workers plus $8,645 in penalties.
Moving Technologies of America Inc., a subsidiary of Vadeto Group LLC, paid five employees as little as $2.77 per hour instead of federal minimum wages. The division recovered $75,132 for five employees representing back wages and damages and assessed $3,324 in penalties for repeated law violations.
In defending his company’s actions, owner Edgar Vargas claimed workers were "independent contractors" paid by OGEID Formacion Empresarial SA DE CV—a Vadeto Group subsidiary—establishing a joint-employer relationship between the two companies.
Since 2021, more than $5 million has been recovered for over 300 workers employed by customs warehouse logistics firms operating around San Diego.
“Companies along the U.S. southern border that mistakenly believe they can exploit Mexican nationals by paying illegally low wages should take note,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Min Park-Chung in San Diego.
The Consul General of Mexico Alicia G. Kerber-Palma urged affected workers to contact the consulate at 619-231-3847 or email proteccionsdi@sre.gob.mx for support or legal advice.
In another case filed on June 21 against NBG Logistics Alliance Inc., it was discovered that employees were ferried away when investigators arrived at an NBG warehouse preventing them from meeting investigators onsite; some were later fired shortly after returning from Mexico.
The division enforces labor laws regardless of immigration status and offers confidential consultations available through its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).
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