Federal government recovers $167K from Oregon farm for failing to pay workers overtime

Shannon Sollitt, Salem Statesman Journal
·2 min read
Agricultural work is exempt from federal overtime rules, but the U.S. Labor Department says investigators determined a Sherwood farm misrepresented the kind of work its employees performed.
Agricultural work is exempt from federal overtime rules, but the U.S. Labor Department says investigators determined a Sherwood farm misrepresented the kind of work its employees performed.

The federal government has recovered more than $167,000 in back wages and damages for more than three dozen workers at Columbia Empire Farms Inc., a Sherwood farm that dodged paying its workers overtime for eligible hours and failed to pay some workers on time, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Columbia Empire Farms, which grows crops and makes and sells preserves, syrups and other products, misapplied an overtime pay exemption and withheld more than $100,000 in owed overtime wages from 43 employees, according to the department. Some of the employees worked up to 75 hours in a week without overtime pay.

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires most employers to pay overtime wages for hours worked over 40 in a week.

Agricultural work is exempt from federal overtime rules. But the Department of Labor said Columbia Empire Farms misused the agricultural exemption, lumping exempt hours for working in the fields with non-exempt hours working in a packing house and paying "straight-time" for all of it.

Oregon agricultural employees also are required to pay overtime for any hours worked past 55 in a week, under a law enacted last year.

The Department of Labor recovered $167,179 in back wages and damages for the 43 employees.

The department also recovered $83,589 in wages and damages for not paying employees on time.

The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act requires employers to be paid at least twice a month. Labor investigators found Columbia Empire Farms paid some workers once a month, the department said.

The farm also has been charged $13,828 in civil penalties, the department said.

"The U.S. Department of Labor will protect the rights of vulnerable workers and hold employers accountable when they fail to pay them all their hard-earned wages, including overtime,” Carrie Aguilar, wage and hour division district director, said.

Columbia Empire Farms did not respond to requests for comment.

The farm is owned by R.B. Pamplin Corp., a family-owned corporation whose enterprises include agriculture, construction and publishing. The group owns 24 community newspapers, including the Portland Tribune.

Shannon Sollitt covers agricultural workers through Report for America, a program that aims to support local journalism and democracy by reporting on under-covered issues and communities. Send tips, questions and comments to ssollitt@statesmanjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Columbia Empire Farms in Sherwood withheld overtime wages from workers