Foreign Farm Workers in U.S.: Department of Labor Action Needed to ProtectFlorida Sugar Cane Workers

摘要

Every October, up to 10,000 workers from Caribbean countries are brought to theUnited States for about 5 months to harvest Florida sugar cane and then return home. The Department of Labor is responsible for enforcement of laws and regulations governing the employment conditions of these Caribbean workers. Farm worker advocates and congressional committees have been concerned about certain aspects of these workers' employment, such as whether sugar cane growers meet the requirement to pay workers' transportation costs to and from the United States, and whether the workers receive all the earnings due them. Notably, they have questioned the management of two wage deductions-a 2-percent deduction from the Caribbean workers' wages for a health and life insurance plan and a 23-percent deduction for a savings plan. You asked us to review Labor's enforcement of the Caribbean workers' contracts with the growers and the laws and regulations relating to (1) the payment of workers' transportation costs, (2) the health and life insurance plan, and (3) the savings plan.