JACKSON, Miss. - Forty-four Mississippi farms exploited local Black workers by paying higher wages to immigrants in the U.S. on temporary work visas, the U.S. Labor Department announced June 28. DoL completed its investigations begun in 2022 in the Mississippi Delta, one of the poorest areas country.
The farms include catfish growers and operations that raise crops. They have paid $505,540 in back wages for 161 workers, plus $341,838 in civil penalties, DoL said.
The investigations confirm employers in the Delta denied a large number of marginalized farm workers lawful wages, and in some cases, violated the rights of U.S. workers by giving temporary guest workers preferential treatment,” said Audrey Hall, district director of the Wage and Hour Division in Jackson, Miss.
The Labor Department announced its findings six months after two agriculture businesses in the Delta settled lawsuits filed on behalf of local Black farmworkers.
DoL said it found employers violated requirements of the H-2A visa program, including failing to pay the required wages to U.S. workers in jobs similar to those held by immigrants. (The AP -6/29/23) MS farms pay overdue wages for favoring immigrants over Black workers (clarionledger.com)
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