Nine migrant workers who were brought to the United States on agricultural visas are now suing their Kentucky employer after they were terminated for truthfully reporting wage issues and non-agricultural work to the U.S. Department of Labor.
One employee allegedly was held against his will in efforts to keep him from speaking with the government, according to the lawsuit.
On Monday, the nine employees filed a lawsuit in federal court against their former employer, Eldridge Farms LLC, and its owner, Crittenden resident Bryan L. Eldridge, for wage theft, underpayment and retaliation, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed by Southern Migrant Legal Services and Kentucky attorney Daniel J. Canon, alleges Eldridge fired several of the plaintiffs for speaking candidly with investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor about the underpayment of wages and other breaches of their employment contracts.
After the workers reported Eldridge to the U.S. Department of Labor in the fall of 2021, Eldridge allegedly locked one of the workers in a garage to prevent him from telling investigators the truth, according to the lawsuit.
“Fear of being fired or not brought back for another season is the single largest deterrent to H-2A workers calling out employers for workplace violations,” said one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, Amal Bouhabib of Southern Migrant Legal Services, said in a news release. “Our clients’ courage in reporting their employer and filing this lawsuit cannot be...
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