BANCROFT, ID – Guest workers often travel hundreds, if not thousands of miles from their native countries to the U.S. to perform seasonal work, much of it in the agricultural industry. Their work is vital to the nation’s food supply, and they leave their homes and families under the belief that their employer will comply with the requirements of the H-2A program that protect their wages and well-being.
That was not the case on an Idaho potato farm where U.S. Department of Labor investigators determined that an employer violated its obligations to guest workers and the law, shortchanged wages and exposed workers to substandard living conditions. The investigation also found that the employer used threats and intimidation to exploit the workers.
The department’s Wage and Hour Division found Jorgensen Management Inc., a potato farm in Bancroft, intentionally violated the following provisions of the H-2A guest worker program:
In addition to these violations, investigators determined that the employer threatened to terminate the work contract and send workers back to Mexico if they refused to accept wages at a lower rate than legally required under the H-2A program. The division also found Jorgensen violated the...
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