https://www.osha.gov/Today, the department’s Wage and Hour Division announced that, to date, it has conducted investigations and identified violations by 44 employers and recovered $505,540 in back wages for 161 workers. Employers also paid an additional $341,838 in civil money penalties.

The division’s completed investigations found employers, in violation of program requirements when they did the following:

• Showed preferential treatment towards temporary H-2A agricultural workers and failed to pay the required rate of pay to U.S. workers in corresponding employment.
• Did not disclose all conditions of employment.
• Failed to provide accurate anticipated hours of work and bonus opportunities.
• Made illegal pay deductions.
• Did not reimburse travel-related expenses as required.
• Failed to comply with federal recordkeeping requirements.

“The outcome of these investigations confirms that employers in the Mississippi Delta denied a large number of marginalized farmworkers their lawful wages, and in some cases, violated the rights of U.S. workers by giving temporary guest workers preferential treatment,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Audrey Hall in Jackson, Mississippi. “Though we were alarmed by the allegations from Black farmworkers in the Mississippi Delta, we applaud them for their willingness to come forward and shed light on these widespread violations. The courage they showed has helped workers across the Delta finally receive their long overdue wages.”

In addition to its enforcement efforts, the division conducted multiple outreach events for the Mississippi Delta Council, an area economic development organization representing 19 Delta and part-Delta counties of Northwest Mississippi. These events provided local agricultural, business and professional leaders with opportunities to work together to enhance compliance throughout the region.

“The Wage and Hour Division protects the rights of workers of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized and faced with persistent poverty and inequality,” said Regional Administrator Juan Coria in Atlanta. “Collaboration with trusted partners, like the Mississippi Center for Justice, is critical to protecting these workers’ rights. The center provided important help in our efforts to protect the rights of workers whose employers denied them their full wages and protections.”

Currently, Southeast employers host the largest number of H-2A workers in the nation. In addition to the Wage and Hour Division, the expanded agriculture enforcement in the Delta region brought together federal experts from the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Employment and Training Administration and Office of the Solicitor; as well as with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and regional stakeholders, such as the Mississippi Center for Justice and the NAACP.

Original source can be found here