MORNING SENTINEL • March 30, 2021
Backyard Farms in Madison must pay $337,000 in back wages and penalties after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor showed the company failed to comply with federal laws governing wages and working conditions for 117 employees. Investigators determined Backyard Farms violated the H-2A program requirements by dismissing domestic workers employed through temporary agencies to make room for incoming foreign workers. The grower also paid workers in corresponding employment lower wages than it paid H-2A workers performing the same work, which is prohibited by law.