Kona coffee grower fined in migrant worker case

KAILUA-KONA » A Kona coffee grower has paid more than $46,000 in fines and back wages over its treatment of coffee pickers from Mexico after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The department announced the action on Wednesday and hinted that it hopes it sends a message to other growers to follow the rules protecting migrant workers, whether legal or illegal. Kona Coffee Grounds acknowledged it paid the money but denied any wrongdoing.

The 24 workers at issue were from Michoacán and were legally brought to the United States to work for Kona Coffee Grounds under the H2-A visa program for temporary agricultural workers. Under the program, growers agree to pay workers a set wage and provide a minimum amount of work.

Terence Trotter, director of the Department of Labor’s Honolulu office, said Kona Coffee Grounds also worked out an arrangement to pay workers based on how much coffee they picked. He said that’s allowed but, because the crop was small, he said there were periods where the workers weren’t able to make at least the $10.86 an hour they were contracted to make. Trotter also said the company couldn’t provide at least 75 percent of the hours required by the contract.

The company paid $25,290 in back wages to the workers for those alleged violations of the H2-A. Trotter said it was also fined $21,000 for asking workers to sign a document giving up their rights to back wages should the company be found to violate the rules of the program.

Joe Fagundes, a lawyer for Kona Coffee Grounds, said the company paid the back wages and fines to avoid the expense of a protracted legal case.

"As a result of this matter, Kona Coffee Grounds LLC has opted to no longer participate in the H2-A worker program," he said.

Trotter said the department never discloses how it learns about alleged labor violations. However, he said it’s not unusual for the department to make site visits on its own to check on migrant workers, who often are unaware of their legal rights.

He said illegal workers are still protected by other federal laws and growers can be forced to pay them back wages.

"We go out into the community and test compliance and do education outreach and we’re going to continue to do that in the Hawaiian Isands," Trotter said.