One of the largest onion processing plants in the U.S., located in Payette, Idaho, was fined for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Ontario Partners LLC had to pay more than $260,000 in back wages for 76 workers and a roughly $44,000 fine for failing to pay overtime to its H-2A temporary agricultural workers. The U.S. Department of Labor's investigation also found the company was overcharging for housing while providing unsafe transportation and unsanitary living quarters.
Under the H-2A visa program, companies that show they cannot find locals to fill positions can hire foreign temporary agricultural workers.
Katherine Walum, Wage and Hour Division District Director at the federal Department of Labor said the violations by the company were willful.
“Farmworkers provide essential labor that helps feed millions of Americans and have rights, we will vigorously protect, regardless of the country they call home,” she said.
“Agricultural employers who benefit from the H-2A program must provide safe transportation, pay the wages they promised and the costs of transportation to and from the U.S., and provide clean and safe housing.”
“Employers have obligations to disclose the terms and conditions of employment to those workers ahead of time, and they have to be as specific as possible,” she said.
Walum added foreign born or local temporary employees are considered vulnerable.
“They may not speak the language. So they're not necessarily understanding all of the rights that may be available to them.,” she said. “They're paid relatively low wages for the work that they're performing.”
The Department of Labor hires interpreters to make sure they can fully investigate violations involving foreign workers, with half of the field investigators being bilingual
Walum added the use of the visa program is growing exponentially in Idaho.
“In fact, Idaho is outpacing Oregon in the number of H-2a workers employed in that state and certainly per capita where Idaho is one of the top in the nation.”
In 2023, the state employed 7,200 people through the program.
