Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) fined Circle H. Citrus $37,000 in civil penalties following the deaths of nine migrant workers as they were being transported near Ft. Pierce, Fla., in a company-leased vehicle. Ten other workers sustained injuries in the accident. The penalty is the maximum allowed under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA).

“These tragic deaths and injuries could have been prevented if the employer had complied with federal and state laws,” said John McKeon, the Wage and Hour Division southeast regional administrator. “Although we have assessed the maximum penalty, it in no way reflects the value of the lives lost.”

The WHD investigation revealed that on April 1, 2004, Circle H. Citrus failed to provide migrant agricultural workers with safe transportation by allowing more than the permitted number of passengers to ride in the van. Nineteen employees, including the driver, were in the van when the fatal accident occurred on U.S. Highway I-95. The van capacity, as stated by the manufacturer, is 15 passengers.

Circle H. Citrus had filed an exception to the assessment and requested a hearing to appeal the Labor Department’s enforcement actions in this case. On Aug. 23, the administrative law judge entered an order, based on consent findings, for full payment of the amount assessed.

For more information about the MSPA, the Fair Labor Standards Act or other laws administered by the Wage and Hour Division, call the U.S. Labor Department’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov. The WHD investigation was conducted by staff from the Ft. Lauderdale office, located in the Federal Building, Room 408, 299 East Broward Blvd., phone: (954) 356-6929.

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