A judge has ordered a farm labor contractor to pay back wages to Thai farm workers. The company will pay about $152,000 in back wages to 88 farm workers and another $194,000 in fines. The Department of Labor said that the workers, who came with temporary visas under a government program, deserved to be treated fairly. Workers said that the company took away their passports and threatened them with deportation. The company says that the claims are not true, and that this was not a case of human trafficking.
See "US labor judge orders back-wages for Thai workers", May 19, 2011