NORTH CAROLINA, Raleigh – A contractor will have to pay $224,249 in wages to 194 workers for violating the H2A visa program requirementsThe U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) reported.
The agency also imposed a civil fine of $239,430 on him and he will not be able to work as a labor contractor for 3 years.
WHD investigators determined that SBHLP Inc., based in Lake Placid, Florida, and owner Salvador Barajas failed to provide workers with at least three meals a day, according to the work order.
The employer also failed to reimburse H-2A workers for their 2018 outbound travel expenses and did not pay their 2019 inbound travel expenses after completing 50% of their contract, as required by law.
Related :How do I contact an H-2A employer directly, without going through a recruiter?
Information about the H-2A Visa Program
If you have questions about the H-2A visa program and other labor laws, contact the toll-free helpline at 1866-487-9243).
Information is also available here, including a tool to search for workers who may be owed back wages collected by WHD.
Investigators also discovered that the employer collected money from workers to cover one-way transportation to the United States on a charter bus and required each worker to pay their own visa and border fees. All violations under the federal visa program.
“Agricultural labor contractors must make sure you meet all the requirements "of the H-2A visa program," said Richard Blaylock, District Director of the Wage and Hour Division in Raleigh.
“Employers who violate the provisions of the H-2A visa program create unfair advantages over other H-2A employers,” he noted.
Barajas secured workers for five farms in North Carolina: OJ Smith in Whitakers, Kent Smith in Rocky Mount, Greenleaf Nursery in Tarboro, Bailey Brothers in Bailey and Bass Farm in Nashville.
On October 18, the North Carolina Farm Workers Organizing Committee (FLOC-NC) denounced publicly the situation by carrying out several days of protest in the fields, where they also reported being victims of abuse and intimidation by the contractor.
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