Several Washington blueberry farmers were fined last week for labor violations, including paying below the minimum wage, not paying overtime to workers and using shadow labor, or multiple laborers on one work ticket. The farmers in Walla Walla, Washington, are required to pay over $400,000 in fines.
The Washington Department of Labor filed the case against Blue Mountain Farms LLC, Great Columbia Berry Farm LLC and Applegate Orchards. These farms employ seasonal workers during the blueberry season, from June to October each year, who are paid a piece rate of what they pick, and that is punched on a card with the worker’s name on it.
However, some workers are not employed through a formal recruiting process and are placed on another person’s ticket as a “shadow worker.” These workers often split their paychecks with someone else, resulting in less pay.
The case was officially filed in court over two years ago, and the courts determined that some of the practices used by the farms violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) and the Migrant and Seasonal Workers Protection Act (MSPA) in Nov. 2015. On Feb. 4 of this year it was announced that the farms are required to pay over $385,000 to workers for wages and other damages and $20,000 to the Department of Labor in fines, according to the Associated Press.
