A Monroeville farm has been ordered to pay back $175,000 in back wages and penalties to settle U.S. Department of Labor charges.
Cassaday Farms LLC was charged with unlawfully rejecting 13 qualified U.S. workers who applied for seasonal employment and showing preferential treatment to temporary agricultural foreign workers, known as H-2A in the Department of Labor.
The farm failed to comply with recruitment requirements, according to the Department of Labor, by rejecting 13 workers from Puerto Rico who were qualified and available for work.
"By denying qualified U.S. workers employment, Cassaday Farms did what H-2A regulations help prevent," said Charlene Rachor, director of the Wage and Hour Division's Southern New Jersey District Office. "This consent finding and order underscores our commitment to hold employers accountable when they attempt to circumvent the law to gain a competitive advantage."
The Department also said the farm offered terms and working conditions to U.S. workers that were less favorable than those for foreign workers and that it did not maintain all required records.
Cassaday Farms agreed to pay $117,130 in back wages and $57,870 in civil money penalties to settle the charges. In addition, the farm will be monitored to ensure it complies with the regulations of the H-2A program including recruitment of U.S. workers, rates paid to H-2A workers, accurate recording of and payment for all hours worked, as well as other regulations.
A call to Cassaday Farms for comment was not immediately returned.

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