Yuma Migrant Farm Labor Contractors Hit With Lifetime Ban, Fine

Published: Friday, June 7, 2019 - 12:48pm
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A federal judge has come down on a father and son in Yuma who hire temporary foreign farmworkers.

The father has been permanently banned from being a farm labor contractor, and the son has been fined. 

Court records said Jose Carlos Gomez and Christian Gomez Bueno admitted they broke federal laws that protect migrant farm workers.

The U.S. Labor Department said the father and son from Yuma had foreign guest workers ride in unsafe buses and didn’t pay them for every hour worked. One bus had a steering column held together by duct tape, according to a news release.

A federal judge in Phoenix has banned Jose Carlos Gomez from ever working again as a farm labor contractor. Christian Gomez Bueno must pay $75,000 in fines and back wages.

Arizona’s demand for guest farmworkers with H-2A visas has been on the rise in recent years.

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