A Georgia company illegally sent H-2A workers to Florida, shorted them $136,000 of pay
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Florida companies and H-2A visa worker mistreatment
Abuse of H-2A workers isn’t limited to Florida companies, but the U.S. Department of Labor hasn’t had much trouble finding the problem here.
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A Georgia landscaping company that sent H-2A visa workers to Florida has been debarred from participating in the program for three years after that and other violations were found by a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.
An order by Labor’s Office of Administrative Law Judges affirmed a $39,016 civil money penalty for Resendiz Pine Straw & Tobacco, which operates out of Suwanee, Georgia. The order also ordered Resendiz to pony up $136,971 to 110 workers, $1,245.19 per worker, after the company’s various violations resulted in not paying earned wages.
Two messages left for Resendiz, whose registered agent is Javier Resendiz, were not answered.
What is the H-2A temporary worker program?
The H-2A guest worker visa program allows companies to use non-immigrant foreign workers for seasonal work if the company anticipates a shortage of U.S. workers. But, the employers must follow a set of requirements, including:
▪ Trying to fill the jobs with United States-based workers first
▪ Paying special rates for H-2A workers
▪ Providing housing and transportation to the job site
▪ Providing meals if the housing doesn’t have kitchens or kitchenettes
▪ Provide H-2A workers work that’s at least 75% of the work specified in the job contract
Labor says Resendiz violated that last part when it after it found there wasn’t enough work for its H-2A workers in Sugar Hill, Georgia.
Scheduled to work in Georgia, actually working in Florida
That’s when Resendiz began shipping some workers to Arcadia, a Central Florida town about 580 miles south of Sugar Hill.
“By doing so, the employer engaged in cost-shifting and failed to provide workers at least three-quarters of the hours of work stated in the original job offer,” Labor said. “Resendiz failed to uphold the terms of the H-2A contract regarding pay, duties and housing.”
Labor says Resendiz also didn’t reimburse workers for transportation costs; didn’t give them copies of their contracts; and deducted breaks and lunches from their work time, an illegal practice.
A check of Florida’s state corporation registry doesn’t show that Resendiz is registered to do business in Florida.
This story was originally published December 20, 2021 at 12:14 PM.
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