News

Missouri farm to pay fine, back wages

A Missouri farm must pay back wages and a fine because of a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

Missouri Vegetable Farm LLC, and its owners Benjy and Robert Proffer, will pay back wages of $394,159 to 102 H-2A temporary visa workers and 105 U.S. workers, as well as H-2A back wages of $85,824 to 22 U.S. workers as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The company was also assessed civil penalties of $38,289 for its H-2A violations.

Labor officials say the farm failed to pay overtime and often failed to combine hours for employees who worked in both the farming and packaging operations between May and December of 2021.

Missouri Vegetable Farm LLC is part of the Proffer Company, a wholesale produce company that farms in Missouri and Arkansas.