What is your opinion on this Fla. Farmer Fined For Paying Foreign Workers More Than Americans?
LAKE WALES, Fla. -- A farmer paid more than $200,000 in fines and back wages after federal authorities found he paid U.S. workers less than foreign laborers, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Kenneth Hyatt, of Hyatt Farms in Lake Wales, paid $163,788 in back pay to more than 300 American workers and an additional penalty of $36,620, the agency said on Monday.
An administrative judge found in March that Hyatt failed to comply with a law that sets minimum wage rates for foreigners hired as seasonal, temporary workers and requires that American laborers get an equal wage.
"This action reflects the Labor Department's continued commitment to ensuring that low-wage workers' rights and wages are protected and that employers not engage in preferential treatment to foreign workers over U.S. workers," Jim Rogers, the acting director of the department's Wage and Hour Division in Tampa, said in a statement.
Hyatt did not immediately return a phone message left at the farm on Thursday. A woman who answered the phone said he was out of town and unable to comment.
Answer:
Doing jobs that Americans don't want? Huhhh??
Were they german orange pickers
Does not say nothing about illegals
He needs to be deported and have his citizenship taken.
Lets see if some other country has someone stupid enough to pay him more than they pay their own people.
I thought all the farm laborers made so much less than American workers.
I guess this kind of shoots the argument that they do the work we won't do cheaper, sounds like they did the same work we do and were paid better.
I guess that is an isolated incident by an enlightened farmer, and not something anyone else would ever do.
who ever works the hardest should get paid the most.
i mean theres no illegal anywhere so i don't see the biggie..
I'd a fined him way more than $200K
I'm sure being a farmer he would have paid those that did the most work. If those people just happened to be foreigners than so be it. The farmers needs to produce the product faster and better so he can make money. Of course if he has people that work harder he is going to pay them better than the ones who do not produce as much product. This would apply in any kind work.
He found a good work force and to keep them he paid them for their, hard work, The American workers should have been paid the same, if their work was quality work. I am sorry he got caught, I take my hat off to him.
Classic example of who are the best workers!!
Funny how most cannot even read. You did not mention illegals, but foreign workers. Must be that illegal guilt complex they have to put words in your mouth.
To answer your question - I guess it wasn't so cheap for the farmer after all. It should have been doubled. And on top of it, the underpaid American workers should hit him with a class action civil lawsuit too. I mean - look at the hardship he caused them for paying them less in the first place.
most farm workers r payed by the hr or by piece work they do. if he wanted to pay more then it was his business,supply and demand.the faster the product is at the consumers hands the better.so what if he payed alittle more to some and not others,maybe in his eyes at the time he was insuring that his people would come to work everyday.as for some American workers who work out in the fields only stay a few hrs or maybe last a day.(if there lucky).
jealousy was the name of the game so someone had to play big dog.
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