ST. PAUL, Min. – Owatonna-based Bushel Boy has agreed to pay nearly $200,000 in back pay to nearly 100 of its employees following an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.
The tomato farm and its Arizona-based farmworker were found to have violated the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act by withholding overtime pay between August 2020 and August 2022, despite the employees consistently working 48 hours per week during that time, according to the report. the labor department.
Bushel Boy agreed to pay $97,242.84 in back wages and $97,242.84 “liquidated damages” to the affected employees, the department said.
“The department appreciates Bushel Boy’s willingness to resolve this matter quickly,” said Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach.
The ministry said Bushel Boy was also fined $47,000, which will be suspended if the company does not violate “certain labor laws” within the next three years.
During the 2023 legislative session, Minnesota updated a labor law that requires companies that hire migrant workers to give them a guaranteed 70 hours of pay every two weeks, as well as written information about their compensation, the department said.
