A Yakima County farm labor contracting company is facing nearly $700,000 in fines for labor violations involving its nearly 1,200 workers.
The company, Superbee Contracting LLC of Moxee, was cited for various labor violations, including failing to provide farmworkers with basic, required information in writing regarding wages and working conditions, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) announced.
Superbee Contracting LLC was cited on June 16 for breaking six different farmworker protection laws.
Citations affected workers spanning 4 WA counties, Oregon
The labor violations impacted nearly 1,200 workers across 15 different farms in Benton, Yakima, Walla Walla, and Franklin counties, as well as in Hermiston, Oregon.
“These are serious violations affecting the welfare of particularly vulnerable workers. Many are from another country and don’t speak English,” Bryan Templeton, L&I’s Employment Standards Program manager, said.
The citation for Superbee Contracting LLC comes on top of a current federal criminal charge for a separate farmworker exploitation case against the controller of Superbee and its business agent, Giovanna Sierra Carrillo, also known as Giovanna Sierra.
Sierra, a Yakima woman, pleaded guilty in April to fraud in contracting foreign laborers and to aggravated identity theft in her work at Harvest Plus. Sierra is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 24 in U.S. District Court in Richland.
L&I noted farmers tend to hire contractors to recruit, employ, and transport domestic and foreign laborers to work on their farms. These farm labor contractors receive licenses from L&I and must follow laws that protect agricultural laborers.
“Workers deserve to know what kind of work they’ll be doing, when and where they’ll work, how much they’ll be paid, and other vital job information,” L&I stated. “This information is critical for these workers to know if they are being treated fairly.”
L&I uncovered that the company concealed key details about its operations
The investigation into Superbee Contracting LLC found that the business lied on its farm labor contractor licensing application, and stated that it did not transport workers when it actually did.
L&I also found that Superbee hid the fact that the owner of Harvest Plus LLC had a financial interest in Superbee.
In total, the Superbee violations that occurred over the course of 2023 and 2024 amount to $692,750 in penalties, which include:
- Failing to provide any required written information on work location, type of crops, specific job tasks, housing, transportation, and the amount to be paid to 702 workers.
- Giving portions of the required information to another 487 employees.
- Failing to provide proof that the business provided pay statements to any of its nearly 1,200 workers.
- Transporting workers while lacking liability insurance.
- Hiring an unlicensed farm labor contractor.
L&I noted that Superbee Contracting LLC is no longer believed to be in business and has 30 days to appeal the violations and penalties.
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