A Carolina produce grower has been instructed to pay $132,000 to six hundred workers.
Titan Fruit & Vegetable Co. Inc. has been found to have violated H-2A program regulations by illegally deducting money from its employees’ wages for political donations and cleaning fees. The company has also been given a further $2,850 in civil penalties.
The Ridge Spring employer will now have to pay the monies to the affected agricultural employees and implement a series of changes to avoid further breaches, said the Department of Labor.
“The H-2A temporary agricultural program helps U.S. farmers by allowing them to recruit the workers needed to harvest crops and help their businesses succeed. In return, employers have a fundamental responsibility to ensure that all workers who come legally to the U.S. under the H-2A program are paid fairly and comply with other regulations,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel. “Deductions from workers’ wages are forbidden unless they are explicitly included in the contract.”
Carolina company to pay for employment breaches
The Wage and Hour Division investigated and found that the company requested agricultural “workers make political contributions, which resulted in the workers’ adverse effect wage rate falling below the required $11.13 per hour; and by charging workers a cleaning fee, paid to a local cleaning crew, for the employer-provided housing.”
The Office of Administrative Law Judges delivered the consent action due to the H-2A breaches. They also included a failure by Titan Fruit & Vegetable Co to record reasons why some employees worked fewer hours than contractually offered, allowing workers to travel in a vehicle that had a broken passenger window, worn and unsafe tires, and did not have a charged fire extinguisher, all of which are transportation safety issues.”
“We are asking the public to assist us in locating those workers owed wages by Titan Fruit & Vegetable Co., so we can put these hard-earned wages in the pockets of the people who worked for them,” Benefiel concluded.
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