SAN FRANCISCO – Migrant workers in the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program provide critical seasonal labor on farms across California, spending weeks away from home doing the grueling work needed to support the state’s $49 billion agricultural industry.

The H-2A program allows employers who anticipate a shortage of U.S.-based workers to bring workers here from other countries to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature. An ongoing U.S. Department of Labor effort has revealed some California vegetable farms have not been providing H-2A workers with the pay and benefits, and personal protections the law requires. 

In a series of investigations from April 2020 to February 2022 by the department’s Wage and Hour Division, several farms were found to be failing to meet their responsibilities under the H-2A program. The investigations found five farmers failed to provide meals or kitchen facilities, did not pay required inbound and outbound transportation and meal costs, and allowed workers to be transported unsafely. The division also determined some farms shortchanged workers’ wages and failed to provide a contract to workers as required or did not abide by the terms of workers’ contracts.

The five investigations led to the recovery of $225,114 in back wages for 588 workers, and assessments of $54,617 in penalties. They also yielded findings and administrative settlements with the following employers:

• Adam Bros Farming in Santa Maria: Failed to provide meals or kitchen facilities, transportation and meal costs. Did not provide contract at time of hire, failed to pay all required wages and unlawfully deducting meal costs, including when meals were not provided. Failed to comply with other state and federal law. The employer paid $94,146 in back wages to 30 employees, and $7,862 in penalties.         
• Boavista Farms in Santa Maria: Failed to pay required inbound and outbound transportation and meal costs. Did not provide contract at time of hire and failed to pay all required wages and comply with other state and federal law. Boavista Farms was ordered to pay $43,297 in back wages to 28 employees, and $5,361 in penalties.
• Profresco Inc. in Santa Maria: Failed to pay all required inbound and outbound transportation and meal costs, and transportation failed to meet safety requirements. Failed to satisfy requirements of the job order by not stating actual terms and conditions and failed to comply with other state and federal law as applicable. Profresco Farms paid $50,789 in back wages to 471 employees, and $7,505 in penalties.
• SARC in Nipomo: Failed to pay inbound transportation and meal costs and made improper deductions for meals and unpaid hours worked. Did not ensure health and safety standards, and prepared meals failed to meet local health standards causing some workers to become ill after consuming spoiled lunch. SARC also failed to provide personal protective equipment and supplies to workers. The employer paid $34,996 in back wages to 42 employees, and $13,160 in penalties.
• Togliatti Farms LLC in San Martin: Failed to pay for required inbound transportation and did not pay the required rate of pay. Failed to maintain required records and did not comply with pay statement requirements. Failed to contact former U.S. employees to solicit their return to the job as required and did not post H-2A information visibly for workers to see. Provided housing that failed to meet safety and health requirements. Togliatti Farms was ordered to pay $1,885 in back wages to 17 workers, and $20,729 in penalties. The employer also agreed to future compliance and paid all monetary liabilities.

“Employers that benefit from the H-2A guest worker program must be aware of all their responsibilities,” said Wage and Hour Regional Administrator Ruben Rosalez in San Francisco. “Agricultural workers employed under the H-2A program must be paid as their contracts require and be provided with what they need to live and work safely while contributing critical labor to California’s agriculture industry.”

Nationally, the Wage and Hour Division investigated 735 cases with H-2A violations in the last two fiscal years. These investigations recovered $9,092,624 in back wages for 13,408 workers and assessed $9,520,624 in civil penalties from employers for violations of federal labor laws.

For more information about farmworkers' rights and laws enforced by the division, contact its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The division enforces the law regardless of a worker’s immigration status and can speak confidentially with callers in more than 200 languages. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

CHICAGO ─ The U.S. Department of Labor will hold an online listening session for Midwest workers, employers and other stakeholders on May 20, 2022, on possible revisions to the regulations that enforce the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime exemptions for executive, administrative and professional employees.

Since 1938, federal overtime regulations have been a cornerstone of the laws the department’s Wage and Hour Division enforces. These regulations protect workers and benefit workers and their families, their employers and the community at-large. The FLSA requires employers to pay most U.S. employees at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked, and overtime pay at not less than time and one-half the regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. 

The law, however, provides an exemption from minimum wage and overtime pay for workers employed as “bona fide” executive, administrative or professional employees. In general, to be exempt, employees must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid on a salary basis at not less than $684 per week.

“Our goal is to use these sessions to listen, engage the public and hear their perspectives on the possible impact of changes to the regulations,” explained Acting Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman. “In today’s competitive labor market, job quality and fair pay are critical to retaining and recruiting the people needed to keep businesses open.”

“Industry demands and the challenges employers face are an important part of any discussion on regulatory change. We want to hear from industry leaders and employers,” Looman added.

The division announced that it will hold a listening session for employers and industry stakeholders as follows:

WHO:                         Employers, employer representatives, employer associations

WHEN:                      Friday, May 20, 2022 2:30-3:30 p.m. CDT

WHERE:                    Register to attend the listening session.

Employer name:                   Pictometry International Corp., doing business as EagleView Technologies Inc., 25 Methodist Hill Drive, Rochester, N.Y. 14623

Investigation findings:          The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, Syracuse Area Office found the provider of technological services, such as aerial imagery and data analytics, classified 57 employees at its Rochester, New York, facility erroneously as administratively exempt from receiving overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The company also failed to keep time records for these individuals and did not include a non-discretionary yearly bonus in calculating employees’ overtime pay rates.

Back Wages Paid:                 $319,141 to 57 employees.

Background:                          Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA provides an exemption from both minimum wage and overtime pay for employees employed as bona fide executive, administrative, professional and outside sales employees. Section 13(a)(1) and Section 13(a)(17) also exempt certain computer employees. In order for an exemption to apply, an employee’s specific job duties and salary must meet all the requirements of the department’s regulations.

Quote:                                    “Employers must understand they are responsible to pay all employees correctly for all the hours they work; failure to do so deprives employees of the wages they've earned,” said Wage and Hour Division Assistant District Director John Steves in Syracuse. “The U.S. Department of Labor provides numerous tools to help employers comply with the law, and we encourage employers and employees alike to contact us for assistance.”

Nombre del empleador:                   Jacobs Stone Products Inc.

Lugar de investigación:                    San Saba, Texas

Hallazgos de la investigación: La División de Horas y Salarios del Departamento de Trabajo de EE. UU. descubrió que Jacobs Stone Products Inc. violaba el programa de visas H-2B al publicitar una tarifa de $19.20 por hora durante las entrevistas de contratación, y luego solo pagar $10.15 por hora a los trabajadores mientras se encontraban en EE. UU. El empleador también hizo varias deducciones ilegales del pago de los trabajadores, no reveló las ordenes de trabajo a los trabajadores H-2B, y no reembolsó a los trabajadores H-2B por el transporte y mantenimiento mientras adquirían sus visas, lo cual es requisito del programa.

Salarios atrasados recuperados:      $57,714 en salarios atrasados para 10 trabajadores

                                                            $27,528 en multas civiles impuestas al empleador

Cita: “Los empleadores dependen del programa de visas H-2B para contratar temporalmente a trabajadores que no son inmigrantes según las necesidades estacionales o carga máxima. Algunos empleadores no se toman el tiempo para comprender sus responsabilidades según la ley, lo cual puede derivar en investigaciones del Departamento de Trabajo EE. UU. y consecuencias costosas”, dijo la Directora del Distrito de la Division de Horas y Salarios, Nicole Sellers en Austin, Texas. “El departamento continuará utilizando todas sus herramientas de cumplimiento disponibles para responsabilizar a quienes se aprovechen de los trabajadores vulnerables”.

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Employer name:                    Jacobs Stone Products Inc.

Investigation site:                  San Saba, Texas

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Jacobs Stone Products Inc. violated the H-2B visa program by advertising a $19.20 per hour rate during the hiring interview and then only paying workers $10.15 per hour while in the U.S. The employer also made several illegal deductions from the workers’ pay, failed to provide job order disclosure to H-2B workers and did not reimburse the H-2B workers for transportation and subsistence while obtaining their visas, a requirement under the program.

Back wages recovered:         $57,714 in owed wages to 10 workers

                                                $27,528 in civil money penalties assessed to the employer

Quote: “Employers depend on the H-2B visa program to temporarily hire non-immigrants on a seasonal or peak-load need. Some employers do not take the time to understand their responsibilities under the law, which can lead to investigations from the U.S. Labor Department and costly consequences,” said Wage and Hour District Director Nicole Sellers in Austin, Texas. “The department will continue to use every enforcement tool available to hold accountable those taking advantage of vulnerable workers.”

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ATLANTA─ The U.S. Department of Labor will hold an online listening session with Southeast employees, employers and other stakeholders on May 17, 2022, on possible revisions to the regulations that enforce the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime exemptions for executive, administrative and professional employees.

Since 1938, federal overtime regulations have been a cornerstone of the laws the department’s Wage and Hour Division enforces. These regulations protect workers and benefit workers and their families, their employers and the community at-large. The FLSA requires employers to pay most U.S. employees at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked, and overtime pay at not less than time and one-half the regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. 

The law, however, provides an exemption from minimum wage and overtime pay for workers employed as “bona fide” executive, administrative or professional employees. In general, to be exempt, employees must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid on a salary basis at not less than $684 per week.

“Our goal is to use these sessions to listen, engage the public and hear their perspectives on the possible impact of changes to the regulations,” explained Acting Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman. “In today’s competitive labor market, job quality and fair pay are critical to retaining and recruiting the people needed to keep businesses open.”

“Industry demands and the challenges employers face are an important part of any discussion on regulatory change. We want to hear from industry leaders and employers,” Looman added.

The division announced that it will hold a listening session for employers and industry stakeholders as follows:

WHO:                         Employers, employer representatives, employer associations

WHEN:                      Tuesday, May 17, 2022

2 to 3 p.m. EDT

WHERE:                    Register to attend the listening session.

ATLANTA – A call to the “Employment, Education and Outreach” hotline maintained by the U.S. Department of Labor led federal investigators to find a Baxley farm labor contractor – who violated several federal laws related to the employment of migrant and seasonal workers previously – had broken the law again, this time for missing a payroll.

After a worker called the “EMPLEO” hotline – a contact center for Spanish-speaking workers – alleging City Pinestraw & Harvesting LLC missed a scheduled payroll – investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division were able to verify the claim, and to later recover $42,338 in wages owed to 171 affected workers.

“Regardless of their immigration status, Spanish-speaking workers can use the Wage and Hour Division’s EMPLEO program to get answers about their workplace rights without cost while remaining anonymous,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Steven Salazar in Atlanta. “Just as farmworkers do the hard labor it takes to put food on our tables, the U.S. Department of Labor works vigorously to protect the rights of these essential workers, and hold their employers accountable when they violate the law.” 

Prior to the investigation related to the missed payroll, a division investigation found City Pinestraw & Harvesting had shortchanged workers’ wages and moved four farm workers from an approved work site to work at the employer’s restaurant. These actions and others led to multiple violations of the H-2A temporary agricultural workers visa program, Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act and Fair Labor Standards Act.

On Sept. 30, 2021, the employer signed an enhanced compliance agreement. This agreement committed the employer to future compliance with the provisions of the FLSA, MSPA, and H-2A regulations, along with payment of $89,168 in back wages for 78 workers, and a civil money penalty of $13,418.

Specifically, the division found – over the course of its investigations, that City Pinestraw & Harvesting violated federal H-2A regulations as follows:

• Did not ensure a fixed work site by pulling H-2A employees from their approved work site to work in the employer’s restaurant.
• Failed to pay travel costs from the workers’ homes countries to the work site, required inbound transportation expenses, at the halfway point of the contract. Workers paid out-of-pocket for bus tickets to get from their homes to the worksite.
• Did not offer at least three-fourths of the workers’ contract hours and failed to reimburse them for the shortfall. Hours worked in the employer’s restaurant did not count toward the three-fourths guarantee, as this was not agricultural work.
• Failed to pay workers reimbursement for visa expenses.
• Failed to keep earnings records, including earnings, hours statements, and rate and frequency of pay.
• Unlawfully employed four H-2A agriculture workers in a restaurant, and paid them below the required H-2A wage.

The employer also violated the Fair Labor Standards Act as follows:

• By failing to maintain records for workers to include the numbers of hours worked, pay period, the amount and reason for withholdings and net pay for a local farm worker.
• By not meeting minimum wage and overtime requirements for agricultural workers while they were unlawfully employed in a restaurant.

Finally, City Pinestraw & Harvesting violated the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act by failing to keep employee records and provide wage statements to workers, as required.

The division offers multiple compliance assistance resources, including an agriculture compliance assistance toolkit, to provide employers the information they need to comply with the law. The EMPLEO alliance is a collaboration of community and nongovernmental organizations, including state, local, and federal agencies and Hispanic consulates that provides information and assistance to Spanish-speaking employees and employers regarding workplace rights and responsibilities. Workers and employers can reach EMPLEO by calling (877) 522-9832 or (877) 55-AYUDA.

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SALT LAKE CITY – A federal judge has upheld an assessment by the U.S. Department of Labor of $1,964,450 in civil money penalties against Paragon Contractors Corp. and its owner Brian Jessop.

The ruling by the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges is the latest action in long-standing litigation by the department’s Office of the Solicitor against the employers, prompted by their lengthy history of child labor violations. The judge also held Paragon’s successor in interest, Par 2 Contractors LLC, liable for the penalty amount.

In 2012, investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found Paragon, Jessop, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and others had employed more than 200 children – including more than 100 under the age of 12 – to harvest pecans on a ranch in Utah during school hours, in violation of child labor provisions in the Fair Labor Standard Act. In past litigation, the department has successfully obtained contempt orders and back wages and other relief totaling more than $1 million.

“Working with the Wage Hour Division, the U.S. Department of Labor has sought to hold these employers accountable for their willingness to defy federal child labor laws,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “The department’s investigation found the employers removed minors from school, forced them to perform hard work in pecan orchards, and deprive them of their education. We will address exploitative child labor practices like these with the department’s full enforcement resources.” 

“Those who employ young workers must ensure the nature of their work, and the times at which they are employed, do not interfere with their education or put their safety in jeopardy,” said Acting Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “Child labor laws exist to help young workers gain valuable and safe workplace experience. Our investigators work tirelessly to root out abuses by unscrupulous employers.”

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division.

SAN DIEGO – Official merchandise for artists including the Rolling Stones, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Willie Nelson or Ariana Grande may have been made by workers at a San Diego silk-screening contractor who denied them the wages they earned for their work.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has concluded that King Graphics in San Diego, a contractor for numerous entertainment merchandise manufacturers, shortchanged workers of wages by failing to pay overtime at time and one-half the required rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

On Sept. 15, 2021, Wage and Hour investigators visited King Graphics and requested that the employer refrain from shipping “hot goods” made in violation of the FLSA. The employer agreed to withhold shipment of a truckload of Britney Spears’ T-shirts headed to Target stores and other items for sale at retailers such as Aeropostale, Footlocker, Hot Topic, Kohl’s, PacSun, Target and Urban Outfitters.

Under the FLSA’s “hot goods” provision, the department can seek a court order to prevent the interstate shipment of goods that were produced in violation of the minimum wage, overtime, or child labor provisions of the FLSA. The order can apply not only to the employer who produced the goods but to anyone in possession of the goods. King Graphics agreed to pay $10,473 to lift the hot goods hold.

After the division’s investigation was concluded, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California entered a consent judgment in April 2022 under which King Graphics agreed to pay $134,957 in overtime pay and an equal amount in liquidated damages, a total of $269,914 to the affected 76 workers. King Graphics will make this payment through a related class action lawsuit brought by the employees. King Graphics will also pay $10,473 in civil money penalties for these willful violations. The court also ordered the employer to hire an independent third-party to monitor future FLSA compliance.

“Celebrities, retailers and manufacturers profit from T-shirts sold for $40 or more, while the low-wage workers who produce the merchandise work overtime to meet consumer demand and become victims of wage theft,” said Acting Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division Jessica Looman. “The Wage and Hour Division will continue to hold employers accountable and use every available tool to ensure that workers are paid in compliance with the law.”

As a result of the King Graphics’ investigation, the division also investigated manufacturers who violated the FLSA by receiving and distributing the hot goods. These manufacturers include Solento Inc. in Encinitas, Bravado International Group in Hollywood, Civile Apparel LLC in San Diego and Artists Merchants and Lasso Gear in Los Angeles, California; Sony Music Entertainment in New York City and The Loyalist in Brooklyn, New York; Local Motion Inc. in Honolulu, Hawaii; and Captain Fin in Wilmington, North Carolina.

The manufacturers cooperated with investigators, submitted the requested records and provided assurances to the department that they will comply with FLSA, and perform due diligence to avoid future violations.

“A manufacturer or retailer must ensure their supply chain is free of ‘hot goods’ – products produced by workers whose legal rights have been violated – or risk legal liability,” added Looman. “All parties, from the entertainers to the distributers and wholesalers, should ensure their profits aren’t supported by workers in sweatshops, many of whom are immigrant women supporting families.”

For more than 20 years, King Graphics has operated a silk-screening and embroidery shop, finishing all types of garments and promotional items. The company claims to print about 30,000 items per day.

Counsel for Wage and Hour Boris Orlov of the department’s Office of the Solicitor in Los Angeles negotiated the joint resolution of this case and a private class action during mediation with King Graphics.

The division enforces the law regardless of a worker’s immigration status and can speak confidentially with callers in more than 200 languages. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

CHARLESTON, SC – A Charleston restaurant shortchanged 92 workers by forcing them to participate in an illegal tip pool that included management and other typically non-tipped employees, which led to federal minimum wage and overtime violations, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has revealed.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that 167 Raw King Street LLC – operating as 167 Raw – required tipped employees to share tips illegally, which invalidated the employer’s claim to a tip credit. As a result, 167 Raw failed to pay tipped employees the difference between their direct wages and the federal minimum wage. In addition, the invalid tip pool resulted in the employer paying overtime rates to the tipped employees at less than the federal requirement when they exceeded 40 hours in a workweek.

The division recovered $624,017 in back wages for the affected workers.

In December 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 958,000 accommodation and food services workers left their positions. The need for restaurant food servers is expected to grow by 20 percent from 2020-2030 to about 2.4 million jobs, the bureau reports.

“Restaurant industry employers must know and comply with federal requirements to claim the tip credit. 167 Raw King Street LLC’s violations are common in the restaurant industry, and they can quickly add up to costly consequences,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel in Columbia, South Carolina. “As food service industry employers struggle to find people to fill the jobs needed to remain competitive, they must take into account that retaining and recruiting workers is more difficult when employers fail to respect workers’ rights and pay them their full wages.”

Wage and Hour Division investigators recovered more than $34.7 million for more than 29,000 workers in the food service industry in fiscal year 2021.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions – regardless of their immigration status – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

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