Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SEATTLE -- The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division assessed $47,425 in penalties against Mariano Ramirez, an unregistered farm labor contractor in Shelton, Wash., for violations of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA).

Donna Hart, district director in Seattle for the Wage Hour Division, said Ramirez transported migrant agricultural workers in unsafe vehicles which resulted in an accident Dec. 19, 2005, near the town of Morton, Wash., in which two workers were killed and several others were injured.

The Wage Hour Division’s investigation also found that 33 of Ramirez’s employees were due a total of $126,709 in back wages for failure to pay the agreed upon wage under MSPA and failure to pay the required overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The workers were employed in the gathering of forest products in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

The investigation covered the period from Aug. 1, 2005, to Jan. 12, 2006. During this time, Ramirez failed to pay the federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour and time and a half for hours after 40 in a workweek. He agreed to pay the workers a piece rate; however the weekly cash payment made to the workers averaged only $2.58 an hour to the brush pickers and $4.85 an hour to the drivers.

The employer also failed to keep or maintain any payroll records, basic employment and earnings records or piece-rate records, Hart added.

MSPA protects migrant and seasonal agricultural workers by establishing employment standards related to wages, housing, transportation, disclosures and recordkeeping. The Fair Labor Standards Act sets minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and youth employment standards.

Information about the MSPA and FLSA is available at the U.S. Department of Labor's toll-free help line at 1-866-4US-WAGE (1-866-487-9243) or by calling the Seattle District Office of Wage Hour at (206) 398-8039. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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