Tag: labor
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Ninth Circuit Increases Award to Latino Farm Workers in Washington State
In an unpublished opinion, a divided Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel has determined that a district court erred in awarding Latino farm workers less than statutory damages for growers’ violations of Washington’s Farm Labor Contractors Act (FLCA). Perez-Farias v. Global Horizons, Inc., No. 10-35397 (9th Cir., decided August 17, 2011). The court remanded the…
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Philippine Banana Workers Seek Damages for DBCP Exposure
Hundreds of individually named Philippine banana plantation workers alleging physical and mental injury from exposure to pesticides have filed suit against a number of agricultural and chemical companies in a California state court seeking compensatory and punitive damages. Macasa v. Dole Food Co., No. BC467134 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., filed August 8, 2011).…
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Farm Workers Allege Hostile Work Environment Created to Certify Farm for Foreign Workers
African-Americans who briefly worked at a North Carolina farm in 2010 allege that they were subjected to a hostile work environment and discriminatory job conditions so the employer could obtain certification under a Department of Labor (DOL) program that allows farmers to hire seasonal foreign workers when U.S. workers are not available and hiring foreign…
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Pesticide Exposure Claims of Banana Plantation Workers Near Settlement
According to a news source, Dole Food Co. has tentatively agreed to settle the pesticide exposure claims of more than 5,000 former banana plantation workers in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Honduras. They are represented by Provost Umphrey, whose lawyers apparently ensured that the workers had actually been employed on the plantations and experienced personal injuries…
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Fourth Circuit Allows Compensation for Poultry Workers’ Donning and Doffing Time
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that the time poultry workers spend donning and doffing protective gear at the beginning and end of their shifts must be compensated as an “integral and indispensable” part of the principal activity of employment. Perez v. Mountaire Farms, Inc., No. 09-1917 (4th Cir., decided June 7, 2011).…
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Banana Workers Sue over Pesticide Exposure
More than 200 farm workers from Ecuador, Panama and Costa Rica have reportedly filed seven lawsuits against commercial banana growers and pesticide manufacturers, seeking to recover damages and medical monitoring costs for health conditions allegedly related to dibromochloropropane (DBCP) exposure. Aguilar v. Dole Food Co., Inc., No. __ (E.D. La., filed June 1, 2011). The…
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Waffle House Worker Claims Owner Falsely Reported That Minimum Wage Was Paid
A former employee of an Olathe, Kansas, waffle venue has brought a collective action against his employer alleging that it reported inaccurate tip earnings so that it would appear that his total earnings were compliant with the federal minimum wage. Spears v. Mid America Waffle House, Inc., No. 11-2273 (D. Kan., filed May 2010). Jared…
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Court Awards Disabled Turkey Plant Workers $1.7 Million in Back Pay
A federal court in Iowa has determined that 31 disabled men who worked at a turkey-processing plant were owed $1.7 million in back wages and liquidated damages by employers who compensated them at a rate of about $.41 per hour for years. Solis v. Hill Country Farms, Inc., No. 09-00162 (S.D. Iowa, Davenport Div., decided…