A Hastings potato grower has settled a lawsuit against his farm for the treatment of homeless, drug-addicted employees picked up in Jacksonville.
Thomas R. Lee, owner of Bulls-Hit Ranch and Farm, agreed to give three workers named in the lawsuit back pay for the time they were employed and reform other practices, according to Farmworker Justice, a nonprofit advocating for migrant and seasonal workers. Lee agreed to pay workers directly rather than give the money to a contractor to pass on to the men.
That agreement is significant because it makes the grower responsible for paying the workers directly, said Weeun Wang, Farmworker Justice?s director of litigation.
?He is not able to use the contractor as a shield,? Wang said Thursday.
Lee also promised to use only reputable, licensed contractors and allow for inspections and worker interviews by legal aid workers to assure good working conditions.
Workers were picked up at Jacksonville homeless shelters on the promise of minimum-pay jobs at the farm southwest of St. Augustine. Ronald Uzzle, the contractor who hired the workers, was also named in the lawsuit. The case is ongoing against Uzzle, who took the workers to an overcrowded camp where they were supplied with decrepit housing and illegal drugs, according to Farmworker Justice.
Instead of the men being paid directly, deductions were made for meals, housing and drugs supplied on credit by dealers at the camp, according to the lawsuit filed in April.
Uzzle knew of the practices but did nothing to stop them, according to the lawsuit.
When filed by Farmworker Justice and Florida Legal Services in U.S. District Court as a class action lawsuit, it was estimated to represent at least 50 people, according to reports at the time. Lee?s settlement means he pays the three workers who could be located.
The three workers were one who worked the 2009 potato season and two who worked the 2010 season, Wang said. The settlements for each man was a full season?s pay and a second amount equal to a season?s pay.
The complaint said Bulls-Hit and Uzzle took advantage of the workers? drug dependence to provide the farm with ?a compliant and low-cost workforce,? according to Farmworker Justice.
The organization said Bulls-Hit was sued in 2004 for using a different contractor who used the same labor practices.
?We are hopeful the settlement with Bulls-Hit will mark the beginning of good business there,? Wang said.
A message left at Bulls-Hit Thursday afternoon was not immediately returned.
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