黑料福利社

State labor officials have cited a Moxee farm-labor company with violating labor laws.

Following on the heels of a federal case against officers of Superbee Contracting, the Department of Labor & Industries said the company violated six farmworker protection laws involving more than 1,000 workers at farms in Yakima, Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties, as well as Hermiston, Ore., according to a news release Wednesday from L&I.

The citation carries fines of almost $300,000, the release said.

Specifically, the company, which recruits, contracts and transports workers for growers and farmers, is accused of failing to provide information on the work location, crops, specific job tasks, housing, transportation and wages for 702 workers; only giving some of the required information to 487 employees; failing to provide proof that the company gave pay statements to any of its almost 1,200 employees; transporting workers without liability insurance; and hiring an unlicensed farm contractor. The offenses occurred between 2023 and 2024, the L&I release said.

Attempts to reach the company by phone were not successful.

Giovanna Sierra Carrillo of Yakima, Superbee鈥檚 controller and business agent, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in April to two counts of fraud in foreign labor contracting. Her sentencing has been tentatively scheduled for September.

Northwest

Four Central WA residents accused of fraud and forced labor involving H-2A program

• ANNETTE CARY Tri-City Herald

Her co-defendants, Francisco Rodriguez-Martel, Erica Cisneros and Esmeralda Rodriguez of the Tri-Cities area are awaiting trial on a 51-count indictment charging them with conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit fraud in foreign labor contracting, making false statements, false swearing in immigration matters, fraud in foreign labor contracting, aggravated identity theft, forced labor and victim tampering.

In the federal case, prosecutors alleged that Carrillo and her codefendants fraudulently obtained H-2A temporary work visas and illegally transported more than 500 workers from Mexico to Eastern Washington. The workers were not given overtime pay, forced to work in extreme heat without access to clean water and exposed to chemical pesticides without protection, the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office said.

Rodriguez-Martel, and Cisneros were also accused of telling workers that they would be reported to immigration officials if they went to authorities.

L&I officials said Superbee had ties to another labor contractor, Harvest Plus of Kennewick, which was owned by Rodriguez-Martel and Rodriguez. Superbee started business after Harvest Plus was denied a license from the state after finding out that the U.S. Department of Labor barred it from participating in the H-2A temporary worker program.