Six Hawaii Farms Sued For Discrimination Against Trafficked Thai Laborers
04/20/2011
Sara Lin/Civil Beat
UPDATED 4/21/11 1:30 p.m.
A federal agency that enforces equal employment laws has sued six Hawaii farms and a California-based labor contracting company, alleging they discriminated against Thai farm workers and forced them to endure more deplorable working conditions than other non-Thai workers.
Hawaii farms named in the civil lawsuit, filed Wednesday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), included Captain Cook Coffee Company, Del Monte Fresh Produce, Kauai Coffee Company, Kelena Farms, MacFarms of Hawaii, and Maui Pineapple Farms*.
The lawsuits, filed in both Hawaii and Washington, center around Global Horizons Inc., a Beverly Hills-based farm labor contractor and two farms in Washington.
A representative of Buderim Macadamia of Hawaii, which bought MacFarms of Hawaii in 2008, said the alleged abuses occurred under previous ownership and that the company could not provide any additional information.
Alexander & Baldwin, which owns Kauai Coffee Company, seemed surprised by the lawsuit and said it cooperated fully with the EEOC throughout its years-long investigation. Global Horizons provided Thai workers for Kauai Coffee's 2004 and 2005 harvest seasons, but none were mistreated or held against their will, the company said. Christopher J. Benjamin, Head of Agribusiness for Alexander & Baldwin, said in a written statement:
"Under our contract with Global Horizons, we paid the company for each worker a wage rate which was established by the U.S. Department of Labor, plus an administrative fee for Global. Global was responsible for paying the workers.
The housing we provided to the Thai workers was inspected by OSHA and certified as meeting the government-required living conditions/standards and regulations. ... The Thai workers had no restrictions outside of work hours. They were free to come and go and to interact with our Kauai Coffee employees. They had access to all of Kauai Coffee lands, including reservoirs and the ocean, which they used for recreational purposes."
Burlingame, Calif.-based Captain Cook Coffee Co. said it let the EEOC interview its employees and inspect its farms. "None of the Global Horizons employees reported to Captain Cook that they were being subjected to harassment or retaliation," the company said in a statement on Thursday.
