Illegal activities of Southern Bosses for the weeks between Friday, December 20, and Friday, January 11
South Carolina Thieves
More than 600 temporary agricultural workers are entitled to their share of more than $132,000 recovered by the U.S. Department of Labor from a Ridge Spring employer that illegally deducted money from their wages for political donations and cleaning fees.
The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Titan Fruit & Vegetable Co. Inc. violated H-2A program regulations by requesting workers make political contributions, which resulted in the workers’ adverse effect wage rate falling below the required $11.13 per hour; and by charging workers a cleaning fee, paid to a local cleaning crew, for the employer-provided housing.
The division obtained a consent finding from the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges that required Titan Fruit & Vegetable to pay a total of $338,446 to 1,341 workers. To date, more than $200,000 in owed wages has been distributed to about half of the affected workers. The division is now actively trying to locate the remaining 617 workers owed a total of $132,308 in wages.
“The H-2A temporary agricultural program helps U.S. farmers by allowing them to recruit the workers needed to harvest crops and help their businesses succeed. In return, employers have a fundamental responsibility to ensure that all workers who come legally to the U.S. under the H-2A program are paid fairly and comply with other regulations,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel in Columbia, South Carolina. “Deductions from workers’ wages are forbidden unless they are explicitly included in the contract.”
Investigators also found Titan Fruit & Vegetable violated H-2A program regulations by doing the following:
- Paying some H-2A workers an additional $50 per week to drive company vans to a nearby town to do laundry and shop for groceries but failing to disclose the additional pay on the job order.
- Failing to record reasons why some employees worked fewer hours than contractually offered.
- Allowing workers to travel in a vehicle that had a broken passenger window, worn and unsafe tires and did not have a charged fire extinguisher, all of which are transportation safety issues.
As a result, the division assessed the employer with $2,850 in civil penalties.
Alabama Killer
A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found a local electrical contractor could have prevented a 44-year-old foreman’s electrocution during storm recovery efforts in Coaling by taking critical safety measures to protect their workers.
Investigators with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration learned the foreman was part of the three-person crew employed by Dexter Fortson Associates Inc. to restore distribution power to a series of natural gas pumps. While trying to replace a broken switch, the foreman suffered fatal electrocution from voltage in energized overhead power lines. OSHA inspectors later learned the switch was energized when the incident occurred.
“Electrical work is inherently dangerous, and industry employers must ensure basic safety standards are met to prevent a needless tragedy like this,” said OSHA Area Director Joel Batiz in Birmingham, Alabama. “Now family, friends and co-workers are left to grieve this terrible loss.”
OSHA investigators determined the company exposed employees to electrical hazards, when investigators found the employer:
- Permitted use of expired electrical protective equipment.
- Neglected to ensure workers’ ability to recognize and address electrical hazards before work began.
- Failed to supervise workers and conduct inspections on an annual basis.
- Did not provide adequate briefings on job hazards, work procedures involved, special precautions, energy-source controls and personal protective equipment required.
- Allowed live-line tools for work on live power lines that should have been removed from service every two years.
- Let workers using tools within nine inches of an energized cutout switch and attempting to work on a broken cutout switch without ensuring that all equipment was properly de-energized as required by safety regulations.
- Failed to ensure equipment was de-energized.
In addition, OSHA found that the employer failed to inspect the worksite to identify possible hazards, before employees conducted repairs and maintenance in overhead power lines, an other than serious violation.
OSHA issued the employer seven serious violations, an other than serious violation, and proposed $84,789 in penalties.
North Carolina Killers
A U.S. Department of Labor investigation into the drowning of a 27-year-old heavy equipment operator at a Leland worksite found the employer could have prevented the fatal incident by following established safety regulations.
An investigation by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration into the August 2024 incident found that a heavy equipment operator and a foreman with RIGID Constructors LLC were repositioning a pump at Cell-3 Eagle Island using an amphibious excavator. While attempting to exit the water-filled cell, the machine tipped over, trapping the equipment operator underwater. The crew and emergency responders could not revive equipment operator.
OSHA cited the Louisiana contractor with four serious violations for failing to train workers on operating a marsh hoe and for not providing or requiring employees to use personal protective and lifesaving equipment while they worked near the water-filled excavation site. The employer also failed to provide a skiff for workers to use immediately in the event of an emergency.
“RIGID Constructors’ failure to comply with federal safety and health standards resulted in a preventable tragedy,” said OSHA Area Director Kimberley Morton in Raleigh, North Carolina. “Safety cannot be just a marketing slogan or an afterthought, it must be a core commitment. Workplace safety isn’t optional, a privilege for some, or merely a recommendation; it is the law.”
OSHA has assessed the employer $50,703 in proposed penalties.
Union Busters
Brought to you by LaborLab: The nation’s leading watchdog standing with working families to stop employer coercion and intimidation.
- Gruma Corporation in Irving, TX paid Logic Labor Relations $475/hour
- Sysco Corporation in Stockton, CA paid Logic Labor Relations $475/hour
- Peter List is the founder and CEO of Logic Labor Relations. List is involved in multiple anti-union media projects, including an anti union radio show. He is also a known member of Groundswell, an alt-right group dedicated to planning a “30 front war seeking to fundamentally transform the nation.”
- Frog Hill Roofing in Bellingham, WA hired The CCG Group and did not report their compensation rate
- ALG HR Solutions amended their LM-20 for USIC (Indianapolis, IN) to include their compensation rate of $425/hour
- American Labor Group (ALG) President Jim Monica got his start working for local unions in arbitration etc., before I guess figuring that management side pays better, and working for Littler Mendelson and then other anti-union firms
Galilea Corp amended their LM-20 for Breakthru Beverage California to include their compensation rate of $2,225/day
Dishonorable Mentions
- A USDOL workplace safety investigation has found a Frisco, TX contractor – Bandera Utility Contractors – repeatedly exposed workers to serious hazards by sending them into unprotected trenches without providing a means of escape. The same contractor was cited for similar actions that resulted in the death of a worker in 2022
- The USDOL announced that its Mine Safety and Health Administration completed impact inspections in November 2024 at 14 mines in Alabama, California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia and issued 162 violations and one safeguard
- Houston-based Noble Energy, Inc. will implement a series of anti-discrimination measures to conciliate age discrimination allegations by the EEOC. The agency charged that Noble Energy practiced discriminatory discharge and layoff practices based on age. The agency’s investigation revealed the company conducted certain workforce reductions which disproportionately impacted employees aged 40 and older
- Tennessee-based Prestigious Placement, Inc., and Prosero, Inc., will pay $215,000 and furnish other relief to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit brought by the EEOC. According to the lawsuit, a male lead employed by Prosero subjected female employees placed by Prestigious Placement to unwelcome sexual comments. When two of the female employees complained to supervisors, they were ignored. Later, Prosero terminated the employees for alleged performance issues
- Rex Healthcare, Inc., a private, non-profit healthcare provider located in Raleigh, North Carolina, violated federal law when it failed to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs and fired her for failing to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, according to a lawsuit filed by the EEOC
- Elon Property Management LLC (Elon), a property management company based in Lakewood, New Jersey, violated federal law by retaliating against an employee in Florida for utilizing disability leave and maintaining a policy that screened out and discriminated against a class of employees with disabilities, the EEOC charged in a lawsuit
- Lubin Logistics Company, which operates as a small package delivery contractor for the international shipping brand FedEx, will pay $20,000 and take remedial measures to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC. The agency’s lawsuit charged Lubin Logistics with firing a delivery driver in Georgia because of his lupus
- Shelby Baptist Medical Center and its operating companies will pay $60,000 and provide other injunctive relief to settle claims of disability discrimination and retaliation in a lawsuit filed by the EEOC. According to the lawsuit, Shelby Baptist illegally discriminated against a behavioral health technician with degenerative disc disease, which impaired her ability to perform her existing job functions. The technician requested reassignment to a vacant position for which she was qualified. Instead of accommodating her through a reassignment, the hospital denied the accommodation and fired the technician in retaliation for requesting it