• A judge has ruled that the Dept. of Labor forcefully coerced two Oregon farmers to pay a fine before they were found guilty.
• It began when the DOL accused two Oregon blueberry farmers of not paying their workers properly. They told the farmers that if they refused to pay $220,000 and waive their right to challenge the findings, the DOL would declare their crops were “hot goods,” making it illegal to ship them. Grocery stores selling their blueberries would have to pull them from their shelves. Rather than lose their crops, the farmers agreed.
• A federal judge ordered the DOA to give the full $220,000 back because the DOA used “economic coercion” and never proved that the farmers were guilty as charged. However, the DOA already hastily doled out the $73,500 to the workers and refused to give this money back to the farmers.
• The farmers are currently fighting the DOL in court to get their money back.