Short Creek contractor must pay $1M to child workers in back wages

A judge is ordering a Utah contractor with ties to a polygamous group on the Utah-Arizona border to pay a total of more than $1 million in back wages to children who prosecutors say were forced to pick pecans from 2008-2013.

U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell made her Tuesday ruling based on the Department of Labor's determination that 104 workers were eligible for back pay from Paragon Contractors. The department says the majority worked an average of six days per week and about three months each year.

Rick Sutherland, a lawyer for Paragon, didn't immediately return an email seeking comment.

The company previously argued the kids volunteered to pick up fallen nuts for the needy.

Read more: https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2019/07/03/short-creek-contractor-must-pay-1-m-child-workers-back-wages/1641648001/
(St. George The Spectrum)