ATLANTA (AP) - A big Georgia produce farm has agreed to pay $485,000 to settle a federal lawsuit that alleged the business failed to pay workers adequately.
The lawsuit was filed last year against Southern Valley Fruit & Vegetable Inc. and Hamilton Growers Inc. by Georgia Legal Services and the Southern Poverty Law Center. It included American farmworkers and Mexican farmworkers brought to the U.S. on temporary agricultural visas.
The suit alleged farmworkers were paid well below minimum wage, didn't receive overtime and weren't paid for all the hours they worked. It also said Mexican workers were owed reimbursements for travel from their home country.
The order requires that the south Georgia company to rehire the farmworkers who were part of the suit and change its timekeeping and payroll practices.