SEATTLE – The U.S. Department of Labor has debarred an East Wenatchee orchard operator for three years from participation in a federal program that allows employment of temporary agricultural workers from outside the U.S. after investigators determined that the employer provided unsafe and unhealthy housing, failed to provide work promised in workers’ contracts, and subjected workers to verbal abuse and threats.

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found significant violations of the H-2A agricultural worker program requirements by Welton Orchards and Storage LLC, which resulted in the employer’s debarment from participation in the program. Specifically, violations included the following:

• Did not meet safety and health requirements for housing, including having mattresses on the floor and failing to have working smoke detectors.
• Failing to pay workers for inbound and outbound transportation from their home countries.
• Not offering the work hours detailed in workers’ contracts, which left them unable to provide for themselves for months at a time.
• Failed to contact U.S. workers in its recruiting efforts.
• Not paying visa-related fees to several workers.

Investigators also found Welton Orchards and Storage frequently targeted H-2A workers with abusive and offensive language, and routinely threatened to send them back to Mexico. The employer initially failed to provide required records to investigators, then later provided incomplete records....

Read Full Story: https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20220728-1