Tobacco grower to pay back wages and penalties for labor law violations

Employer name: T Bond LLC

Investigation site: 2920 Sparta-New Liberty Road, Sparta, Kentucky

Investigation findings: The Wage and Hour Division's Louisville District Office investigated T Bond LLC tobacco farm under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act Field Sanitation provisions, and the labor provisions of the H-2A visa program.

Investigators found that T Bond failed to maintain an active worker's compensation policy or insurance covering injury and disease from June 2014 to October 2014 as required by the H-2A guest worker regulations. The employer also failed to reimburse H-2A workers for the entire cost of their transportation back to their place of origin, failed to the pay workers for the required minimum of three-quarters of the number of work hours stated in their contracts, and failed to pay at the required rate. Additionally, T Bond required workers to pay for gas to cover transportation costs to and from the worksite, failed to post the H-2A poster, failed to provide wage statements to workers, and did not provide potable water, toilets and hand washing facilities for field laborers within one-quarter of a mile of their work site.

Resolution: T Bond will pay 21 workers $16,298 in back wages and will pay $11,948 in H-2A civil money penalties. The employer agreed to future compliance with H-2A, FLSA and OSHA sanitation requirements.

Quote: "Mr. Bond petitioned for the privilege of hiring non-immigrant workers under the H-2A visa program, and these workers travelled from Mexico to provide him the labor that he needed to harvest his tobacco crop," said Karen Garnett, director of the division's Louisville District Office. "However, he did not fulfill his obligations and denied workers the wages and protections they are afforded by law. The agency is committed to using every enforcement tool at our disposal to ensure all workers are paid the hard earned wages they deserve so that they can provide for their families."