Amigo Farms Wage Violations Lead to Thousands in Fines

A farming company has been fined for failing to pay California field workers for all the time they spent on the job.

Following an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, Amigo Farms Inc. was hit with a bill for more than $14,000 in civil penalties and back wages.

According to the investigation, Amigo Farms wage violations included failure to pay workers during hours in which they could not do work but were nevertheless still on the job.

The alleged Amigo Farms wage violations took place at the company’s operation in Winterhaven, Calif.

Investigators said the company failed to pay its field workers for time they had to spend idle while waiting for ice to thaw off the lettuce they were hired to pick. During colder months, that on–the-job thaw time could take from one to three hours per day.

As a result of the investigation, Amigo Farms will have to pay $13,000 in back wages to 32 of its field workers. The Department of Labor also assessed the company civil penalties of $1,400 for the discovered Amigo Farms wage violations.

According to a Department of Labor press release, Arizona-based Amigo Farms Inc. owns and farms over 6,500 acres of agricultural land, primarily growing cabbage and lettuce. The company supplies produce to brands including Dole, Taylor Farms, Fresh Ex, ready Pack, True Leaf and Green Gate.

In response to the investigation into Amigo Farms wage violations and ensuing penalties, Amigo Farms says that one of its supervisors made a mistake when reporting worker wait times to the company’s payroll department during last season’s harvest period.

The error went contrary to that supervisor’s wage and hour training, the company says.

The company says it took steps to correct the error as soon as it was discovered, and it will implement changes to ensure greater accountability in its payroll record keeping.

DOL: Amigo Farms Wage Violations Part of Concerning Trend

Rodolfo Cortez, director of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division Office in San Diego, says the department is increasingly concerned about circumstances like these in which employers dock workers for time spent idle through no fault of their own, while they are nevertheless considered “on the job.”

“Employers have a responsibility to know what counts as work time, and to pay their workers accordingly,” Cortez says. “Employers should have a contingency plan during inclement weather so workers are not left standing in the cold and not being paid as required.”

Cortez adds that the Wage and Hour Division offers training programs for farmers in Southeastern California and in Arizona so that they can better understand their responsibilities to their employees.

Much of the employment in the U.S. agricultural industry is governed by the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. This federal law extends certain wage protections to employees who do agricultural work on a migrant or seasonal basis.

Under the MSPA, migrant and seasonal farm workers are entitled to receive a minimum wage. Failure to pay wages promised can constitute a violation of the law.

Employers are also expected to pay workers for all hours that qualify for compensation under federal labor laws.

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