Two mushroom farms in Half Moon Bay, the place seven folks have been killed in a mass capturing, owed tons of of 1000’s of {dollars} in again wages to staff, and charged a lot of them to illegally stay in trailers and cargo containers that have been infested with trash, mould and bugs, the U.S. Division of Labor introduced.
California Terra Gardens and Harmony Farms should pay greater than $450,000 to 62 staff, plus greater than $71,000 in penalties to the U.S. Treasury, the company mentioned in an announcement, after finishing an investigation that discovered staff have been shortchanged of their pay, weren’t paid additional time and at occasions weren’t paid for working off the clock.
At each farms, staff and their households have been housed in filthy, infested, cramped situations, many dwelling in unlawful properties created from cargo containers, garages and dilapidated trailers, in accordance with the investigation, performed by the division’s Wage and Hour Division.
“Our investigation discovered staff at California Terra Gardens and Harmony Farms housed in sickening situations, pressured to sleep close to rubbish and with bugs throughout,” mentioned Alberto Raymond, wage and hour division assistant district director for the Division of Labor. “The Division of Labor is set to carry employers accountable once they ignore their authorized tasks to offer appropriate housing when required and pay staff all their legally earned wages for the arduous work they do in troublesome situations.”
The discovering comes greater than a yr after prosecutors say Chunli Zhao, 67, shot his co-workers with a handgun. Zhao, who remains to be awaiting trial, was working at Terra Gardens on the time and had been beforehand employed at Harmony Farms.
Officers mentioned the lethal capturing occurred after Zhao was advised by a supervisor he must pay $100 for broken gear.
The Jan. 23, 2023, capturing introduced consideration to the dwelling situations of the employees in each farms.
In California Terra Gardens, investigators discovered 39 staff had been dwelling in cramped cargo containers, dilapidated trailers and garages that had been used as properties, in accordance with the Division of Labor.
Employees have been uncovered to bugs and trash within the unlawful housing, officers mentioned. The farm homeowners, Xianmin Guan and his spouse, Liming Zhu, additionally deducted cash from the employees’ pay for them to stay within the unlawful housing. Officers from Harmony Farms and California Terra Gardens couldn’t be reached for remark.
In Harmony Farms, investigators discovered a former greenhouse was used as a house for staff, the place they have been uncovered to mould and bugs.
Employees weren’t paid for all their work hours, together with additional time and time spent on off-the-clock duties, the company discovered.
Harmony Farms agreed to pay $370,107 in additional time wages and liquidated damages to 10 staff, the company mentioned, in addition to $4,242 in late wages to 23 staff. The farm was additionally required to pay $29,049 in penalties for the violations.
California Terra Gardens agreed to pay $84,074 for 39 staff to recoup charges they paid for the unlawful housing, and $42,494 in penalties.
Final week, Half Moon Bay planning commissioners permitted a brand new constructing designed for low-income senior farm staff. The venture is predicted so as to add 40 properties.
Though the venture was within the works earlier than the mass capturing, it gained new urgency after the killings.
The plan was delayed in hours-long conferences within the metropolis’s planning fee, prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to publicly urge metropolis officers to maneuver the plan ahead. He warned that the state company that enforces housing legal guidelines would “take all the required steps to carry Half Moon Bay accountable” if the venture didn’t transfer alongside.
