H-2A Workers Accuse Stemilt Of Violating Federal, State Laws

On Monday a lawsuit was filed against Stemilt Ag Services claiming a violation of federal anti-trafficking laws and more. Two H-2A workers identified in the suit said the Wenatchee-based company violated the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act as well as the Washington Law Against Discrimination through threats and intimidation.

The workers, Gilberto Gómez García, Jonathan Gómez Rivera, allege back in 2017 they were told by company officials that if they did not pick a certain number of bins of apples per day, they would be written up. The class-action suit says employees were threatened that if they were written up three times, they would be fired, returned to Mexico without expenses paid, and be banned from future employment. Garcia and Rivera add the working conditions were intolerable due to ongoing threats from Stemilt employees.

Columbia Legal Services, which filed Monday’s paperwork, says over 1,100 H-2A workers could be members of this proposed class action lawsuit.

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