NY inundado de calabazas - La Voz Hispana NY

14LA VOZ HISPANA • N.Y. DEL 24 AL 30 DE OCTUBRE DEL 2013 • http://www.lavozhispanany.comHISPANICVOICENew York's Largest Spanish Weekly NewspaperOfficial Newspaper of the NYC Hispanic Chamber of CommerceThe U.S. Department of Laborhas filed suit in federal courtagainst Beneficiado de Café LasIndieras, doing business asHacienda Remanso de Paz, and itspresident, Wilfredo Ruiz Vargas, foralleged violations of the Fair LaborStandards Act’s minimum wage andrecord-keeping provisions.An investigation by the department’sWage and Hour Division found that theYauco coffee grower employed farmworkers and coffee harvesters, but failed topay them the legally required minimumwage for all hours worked. Several coffeepickers were paid by the pound, amountingto hourly wages between $1.25 and $6.54,and some seasonal hourly workers werepaid $5.25 per hour instead of the legallyrequired minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.Investigators also found that the defendantsfailed to create and maintain accuraterecords of their employees’ wages, hoursand other conditions of employment, inviolation of the FLSA.“The coffee-growing industry in PuertoRico employs thousands of low-wageagricultural workers, many of whom arecoffee pickers who work on rugged land inmountainous regions for subminimumwages. These are among the most vulnerableof workers, and they deserve to bepaid correctly,” said Jose R. Vazquez,director of the division’s CaribbeanDistrict Office. “These workers aretypically paid by the pound for the coffeethey pick. Paying by the pound is legal, butit is the employer’s responsibility to ensureworkers are earning at least the minimumwage.”The defendants operate a farmprimarily dedicated to the planting, cultivating,harvesting, processing, packing andselling of coffee. The lawsuit, filed in theU.S. District Court for the District ofPuerto Rico, seeks back wages coveringthe last two years. It also asks the court torestrain the defendants from withholding“The coffee-growing industry inPuerto Rico employs thousandsof low-wage agriculturalworkers, many of whom arecoffee pickers who work onrugged land in mountainousregions for subminimumwages. These are among themost vulnerable of workers, andthey deserve to be paid correctly”U.S. Labor Department sues Yauco coffee grower for minimum wage violationspayment of the wages owed, and fromfuture FLSA violations.The FLSA requires that covered,nonexempt employees be paid at least thefederal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour,as well as time and one-half their regularrates for every hour they work beyond 40per week. The law also requires employersto maintain accurate records of employees’wages, hours and other conditions ofemployment, and prohibits employersfrom retaliating against employees whoexercise their rights under the law.The investigations were conducted bythe division’s Caribbean District Office inGuaynabo. The department’s RegionalOffice of the Solicitor in New Yorklitigated the case for the division.For more information about the FLSA,contact the division’s toll-free helpline at866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or itsCaribbean District Office at 787-775-1924.Information also is available athttp://www.dol.gov/whd.