The Department of Labor has barred a Washington state orchard operator from the H-2A farmworker visa program for three years over alleged worker abuses.
DOL investigators found that Welton Orchards and Storage LLC offered unsafe housing to workers, failed to pay them for travel to and from their home countries, and subjected them to threats and verbal abuse, according to an agency announcement Thursday. The company also failed to recruit US workers for job openings, investigators found.
“Welton Orchards and Storage intimidated and threatened workers and put their livelihoods at risk as they violated many provisions of a federal program ...