State again gives warning to farm-labor contractor

YAKIMA – A farm-labor contractor operating in central Washington’s agriculture-heavy Yakima Valley is in trouble with the state again.

The state Department of Labor and Industries and the Employment Security Department reached a settlement agreement Sept. 22 with Global Horizons of Los Angeles for violating state wage and labor laws.

In a letter Tuesday, the two agencies say Global Horizons already has violated terms of that agreement. They say the state will revoke the company’s license if certain conditions are not met by Dec. 30.

The settlement agreement established clear expectations and requirements to bring Global Horizons into compliance with state law, L&I Director Gary Weeks said.

“While we acknowledge Global’s efforts over the past three months … the company clearly has fallen short in several important areas,” Weeks said. “Today, we are giving Global one final chance to comply.”

Global Horizons has brought more than 100 temporary agricultural workers from Thailand to the Yakima Valley in each of the past two summers under the federal H-2A guest-worker program. The program allows a labor contractor to bring in foreign workers if it can prove workers can’t be found locally.

The state faulted the company for failing to pay back wages to 136 Thai workers last year, violating 11 state codes and failing to comply with basic requirements of state laws designed to protect workers, such as providing adequate housing.