Farm labor company pays $53,000 in back pay after violating rights of visa workers
Bringing workers into the United States to harvest vegetables in Florida? SOL Harvesting did that.
Providing those workers proper pay, housing, transportation? SOL Harvesting didn’t do that.
So, the company paid $53,428 in back wages to its H-2A visa workers and a civil fine of $2,368, according to the Department of Labor. The Haines City company, started in 2014 by owner Roberto Cendejas, produced 99 vegetable harvesters for Scott Farms in Mount Dora.
The department announcement of the penalties said SOL Harvesting “failed to provide employees copies of their work contracts and failed to reimburse them for inbound travel expenses from their home countries as required by law. In addition, the company failed to reimburse the employees for their visa and border fees within their first workweek. SOL Harvesting LLC also failed to provide required transportation and housing that met minimum safety and health standards.”
H-2A visa workers can be brought in to fill jobs when there’s a shortage of U.S. workers qualified or willing to do the tasks.
This story was originally published December 17, 2018 at 6:38 AM.
