Payette onion processing plant fined, pays $260K in back wages to H-2A workers

Boise State Public Radio News | By Julie Luchetta
Published August 2, 2024 at 1:13 PM MDT


Matt Guilhem/Boise State Public Radio

One of the largest onion processing plants in the U.S., located in Payette, Idaho, was fined for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Ontario Partners LLC had to pay more than $260,000 in back wages for 76 workers and a roughly $44,000 fine for failing to pay overtime to its H-2A temporary agricultural workers. The U.S. Department of Labor's investigation also found the company was overcharging for housing while providing unsafe transportation and unsanitary living quarters.

Under the H-2A visa program, companies that show they cannot find locals to fill positions can hire foreign temporary agricultural workers.

Katherine Walum, Wage and Hour Division District Director at the federal Department of Labor said the violations by the company were willful.

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