Investigators find employers discriminated against workers who complained
PHOENIX – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal court order to prevent an Arizona agricultural employer from continuing to abuse agricultural guest workers, exposing them to dangerous workplace conditions – including requiring them to operate unsafe vehicles and housing them in overcrowded quarters – and from discriminating against those who complained.
On Oct. 25, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona granted the department’s request for a Temporary Restraining Order forbidding VH Harvesting LLC and owner Preston Van Hofwegen from violating the H-2A program. Separately, joint employer T&K Feeds Inc. agreed to a stipulated preliminary injunction not to violate the H-2A program.
The court’s action follows an investigation into possible H-2A program violations of T&K Feeds in Stanfield and VH Harvesting in Maricopa by the department’s Wage and Hour Division.
Investigators found evidence that VH Harvesting violated its H-2A work order by providing substandard housing, paying wages below those required and using H-2A workers as interstate truck drivers. VH Harvesting required workers to drive for up to 16 hours, using semi-trucks with mechanical failures, such as a missing motor brake, broken trailer attachment, or an engine with severe oil leaks. While on the road, VH forced workers to sleep in trucks’ cabs and share a bed with another worker. In its H-2A guest...
Welcome to Reality Check, NewsGuard’s nonpartisan newsletter that tracks the false claims and conspiracy theories that shape our world — and who’s behind them. A note to readers: We just scored a b...