The Department of Labor (DOL) has debarred Harvest Plus LLC, a farm labor contractor based in Kennewick, Washington, from participating in the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program for three years. DOL found that the employer “provided workers with unhealthy living conditions; transported them in unsafe vehicles driven by people without licenses or proper permits; withheld wages and made illegal pay deductions; told workers to falsify documents to mask violations of federal regulations; and denied U.S. workers access to jobs.”
Specifically, DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found that Harvest Plus violated H-2A program requirements by:
- Housing H-2A workers in unsafe, overcrowded conditions in moldy motel rooms.
- Failing to reimburse H-2A workers for inbound and outbound transportation costs between their home countries and Washington.
- Allowing drivers without permits or licenses to transport workers in dangerous, dilapidated vehicles with broken or missing seatbelts and lights and inadequate seats.
- Making unlawful pay deductions not stated in job orders, including for laundry expenses.
- Failing to provide a copy of work contracts and not stating job orders’ actual terms and conditions.
- Giving preference when contracting H-2A workers and failing to contact U.S. workers employed previously.
WHD also learned that Harvest Plus tried to require workers to work beyond the H-2A certification periods and outside the period of allowed employment.
WHD assessed the employer $252,475 in civil penalties.