A small percentage of employers in the produce industry violate federal labor standards
A small percentage of employers in the produce industry violate federal labor standards
A small percentage of employers in the produce industry violate federal labor standards, according to a review of the current H-2A program published by Rural Migration News from the University of California, Davis.
What kind of violations?
Swindling workers out of wages, accepting bribes for employment H-2A, negligent security practices, to name a few.
“The highest probability of finding a violation is 72% for the fruit and nut crop, followed by 64% for the investigated vegetable and melon crop,” the EPI study noted.
“There will never be enough resources to staff agencies to the level required to ensure full compliance with labor laws, so there will always be a need for enforcement agencies to use their resources to achieve the greatest impact,” he stated, former WHD administrator David Weil.
If violations are concentrated among relatively few growers and FLCs, investigators are likely to take a closer look. In other words, they know where to look for potential lawbreakers.
A disproportionately large number of violations involved farm labor contractors (FLCs) and employers who use their services.
This is due in part to what Weil has called a “fissured workplace”: that is, there is a rupture between the employer and the worker, that is, the intermediary that stands between them.
source:
producebluebook.com
