The Attorney General of Minnesota has filed a lawsuit to sue a Stearns County dairy farm for wage theft.
On Monday, a lawsuit was filed by Ellison’s office in Stearns County District Court alleging Evergreen Acres. Evergreen Acres is a large dairy producer which is based in Paynesville and failed to pay at least $3 million of workers’ wages, illegally charged rent for onsite housing which was substandard, and maintained a culture of fear and violence.
Many of Evergreens’ employees are not authorized workers and come from the Oaxaca region of Mexico with little or no knowledge of spoken English, the lawsuit states. The suit claims that workers were prohibited from raising complaints about rent and pay and threatened with their unauthorized status by Evergreen’s ownership and management.
Ellison stated that he wanted to thank those workers who came forward amid these threats and violence, to tell the truth about the ongoing situation. He further stated, “Thanks to them, we’re going to be able to hold Evergreen accountable for their bad conduct.”
As per the Attorney General’s office, in November they discovered the extent of housing violations when they had already sent the civil investigative demand to Evergreen last March.
The Attorney General’s office has claimed that messages were not returned when they tried to reach Evergreen Acres.
Here are some points that the lawsuit claims:
- The suit claims that workers were not paid properly for the number of hours they have worked.
Ellison stated in the press conference held on Monday that, one worker put in 180 hours of work in two weeks and then saw that a full quarter of his pay had vanished from his paycheck.
- Evergreen Acres refused to pay the employees’ wages for the beginning and end of their employment. The suit claims that most of the employees working in Evergreen did not receive a paycheck for the first two weeks of employment and if they quit between the pay period, they didn’t receive the final check.
- Evergreen did not have proper employment records. The company was not able to provide employees with any written information about their employment agreement and terms and conditions.
Ellison stated that onsite housing which was offered to employees by Evergreen has violated various health and Safety laws of Minnesota. According to the claims made by the lawsuit, workers lived in windowless suffocating rooms with walls made of plywood, unfinished electrical sockets, and only space heaters for warmth. They claimed that the housing provided was “not fit for human habitation” with some units not having onsite bathrooms and many workers living in garages.
Ellison stated that the residences provided were not even within the bounds of human decency.
The penalty of $25,000 in civil penalties for each violation for the affected employees is aimed by The Attorney General’s office. Elison claimed that Evergreen owners can face criminal charges, but the decision of any criminal execution is rested upon the counties.
The Attorney General’s office has partnered with the Department of Homeland Security to grant deferred action to affected workers so they will have the ease to participate in the investigation without the fear of the consequences which may lead to immigration status.
