Labor Judge Orders LA Company To Pay Back Wages For Thai Farmworkers

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An administrative law judge has ordered a Los Angeles-area temporary workforce provider to pay more than $340,000 for failing to properly pay Thai farmworkers in Hawaii and for violating their rights.

The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday announced the ruling against Global Horizons Inc., which is also under scrutiny for alleged human-trafficking violations.

The Labor Department says Administrative Law Judge William Dorsey ordered the company to pay $153,000 in back wages to 88 temporary farmworkers and $194,000 in fines.

The department says Global Horizons failed to pay employees for all their work and retaliated against those who complained, among other violations.

The company stopped doing business in 2006.

Company President Mordechai Orian, denies the allegations and says he has appealed. He is also facing criminal prosecution in Hawaii.

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