U.S. Department of Labor fines California farm labor firms for unsafe conditions, wage violations

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/06/department-labor-california-farm-contractors-fines-penalties-transportation.html

The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered two California farm labor contractor companies to pay $91,300 in fines and worker back pay in connection to federal investigations into wage violations and unsafe worker transportation conditions.

The investigations of Madera-based Mid-Valley Labor Services and Riverdale-based Ayala Corp. were launched after two separate traffic accidents occurred in 2010 in which six migrant and seasonal farm workers were killed and six others were seriously injured, according to a statement released Monday by the Labor Department.

The Labor Department said it found both firms had violated the federal Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, which provides employment-related protections to migrant and seasonal agricultural workers.

Neither Mid-Valley Labor Services nor Ayala could be reached for comment Monday afternoon.