Grant County Orchard To Pay For Not Hiring Workers

Mexican farmworkers who claimed they were blacklisted after protesting labor conditions will get their jobs back and receive over $275,000 under a settlement made public recently.  In September 2017, the 18 workers walked off their harvest jobs with Larson Fruit in Grant County after they made complaints ranging from unsafe working conditions to a lack of medical attention to a scarcity of toilet paper.  The actions are allowed under the H-2A program.

The lawsuit was filed this year in state Superior Court by Columbia Legal Services.  According to the Seattle Time, the suit alleged a breach of the settlement agreement when workers were not offered jobs for the 2018 season at Larson Fruit.  Under the agreement, Larson will not only offer the workers jobs for the 2019 season, but also compensate the 18 workers for not getting jobs at the orchard this year.

Larson denies any wrongdoing or liability, and does not concede that any wages are owed for 2018.

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