Turlock farms charged for labor violations. Federal investigators found these issues
Investigators found two Turlock employers violated a temporary agricultural worker program by shortchanging pay and failing to provide safe housing and transportation, the U.S. Department of Labor said in a Monday press release.
The investigation recovered about $83,000 in back wages for 92 workers, the department said, and charged $37,000 in civil penalties against Roberto Perez Farms and Perez Bros Farms Inc. in Turlock.
Both farms allegedly violated rules of the H-2A program, which allows employers to bring foreign nationals to the U.S. for temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs. The program requires employers initially try to fill the jobs with domestic workers, pay specific rates and provide housing and transportation to work sites.
Investigators found the Turlock employers illegally rejected domestic workers and did not pay the program rate to workers hired alongside those with H-2A visas. The farms also did not pay H-2A workers at least three-quarters of the work hours in their contracts, nor pay them required wages, the department said. Both additionally illegally deducted pay and did not reimburse H-2A workers for visa and border crossing fees.
The employers could not immediately be reached for comment.
“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, the Wage and Hour Division District Director in Sacramento, said in the release. “These violations are all too common in the agricultural industry.”
The farms also transported workers in vehicles with bald tires and broken lights, the department said. Housing for H-2A workers was allegedly unsafe and overcrowded.
Against the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the employers failed to provide wage statements to workers and pay wages on time, the department said.
The department completed 1,000 investigations of agricultural employers in fiscal year 2021, per the release, and recovered more than $8.4 million in back wages.
This story was originally published February 14, 2022 at 11:40 AM with the headline "Turlock farms charged for labor violations. Federal investigators found these issues."
