This photo provided by Texas RioGrande Legal Aid shows H-2A farmworker housing in Plains, Texas, in 2021. If employers charge for housing or if it's substandard, federal officials can order them to pay back wages and penalties. Labor advocates are worried that many workers are being cheated. They’re also concerned that investigations by the Labor Department — which has special oversight over guest workers — aren’t keeping pace with a dramatic increase in workers. (Texas RioGrande Legal Aid via AP) The Associated Press
For Maribel Hernández, falling ill with COVID-19 at a Louisiana crawfish processor and losing her job was terrible enough. But the Mexican guest worker was in for another shock. A federal labor investigation in 2020, initially focusing on worksite safety, revealed that the company failed to pay Hernández and 99 other guest workers a total of $138,629 in overtime earnings.
The 100 workers were deprived of pay “amid the pandemic, when food industry workers put themselves at risk to support the economy,” U.S. Labor Department officials announced in August of 2021. Officials recently told the Center for Public Integrity that 35 of the foreign workers were also owed $12,922 in sick pay required under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
Shortchanging workers such as Hernández isn’t an isolated problem. From 2005 to 2020, U.S. employers around the country were ordered to pay more than $42.5 million in back wages to 69,000 workers who perform seasonal...
NC said Thursday it has filed a criminal complaint against the operator of the YouTube channel "Yeonglaegi" on charges of spreading false information and obstructing business operations related to...