Zirkle Fruit reaches labor settlement
"Approximately 600 foreign guest workers employed by Zirkle Fruit in 2007 will be entitled to $170 each under the terms of a settlement announced Monday. The total settlement is $102,000.
Zirkle fired nine Mexican farm workers last year for allegedly failing to meet productivity requirements. The men had been brought to the U.S. on H-2A visas as part of a federal program that allows American farmers to hire foreign workers when there's a local shortage.
The farm workers sued the Selah-based fruit company in federal court in January, alleging that Zirkle failed to adequately disclose production standards in the labor contract, which is approved by the U.S. Department of Labor."
LEAH BETH WARD in the Yakima Herald-Republic.