Posted January 26, 2015
The U.S.
Department of Labor (DOL) is dropping a lawsuit against two Oregon blueberry growers accused
of "hot goods" labor law violations, according to a Capital Press article
available here.
The Register Guard also published an article available here
and Seattle Pi here.
The two blueberry growers are Pan-American Berry Growers and
B&G Ditchen.
In 2012, the DOL threatened to stop the shipment of perishable berries
as unlawfully harvested “hot goods” unless the growers agreed to pay $220,000
in back wages and penalties, according to The
Register Guard.
The
farmers complied, but then turned to the federal courts where a judge ruled
that the growers were acting under duress to save their crops. The agency then
said it would appeal and sought additional charges against the growers.
Under the signed
agreements, the workers get to keep $73,500 that was distributed as
underpayments, but the farms will receive payments almost equal payments and
also will receive $30,000 each.
The lawyer
for both growers, Tim Bernasek, said that they are relieved the dispute has
ended and they're satisfied with the settlement, according to Seattle
Pi.
“They are
very appreciative of the support the industry has given them,” said Bernasek.
For more
information, a previous blog post on the lawsuit is available here.
For more information on labor law issues, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
