Park Hills Business to Pay Back Wages

(Park Hills, MO) A Park Hills vegetable farming and packing operation, Missouri Vegetable Farm LLC, owned by Benjy and Robert Proffer, will pay $479,983 in back wages to 208 workers, following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. In a consent order and judgment March 12th and an H2A settlement agreement executed on December 29th, of 2023, Missouri Vegetable Farm LLC, and its owners, will pay Fair Labor Standards Act back wages of $394,159 to 102 H2A temporary visa workers and 105 U.S. workers, as well as H2A back wages of $85,824 to 22 corresponding U.S. workers. The company was also assessed civil money penalties of $38,289 for its H2A violations. This action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found Missouri Vegetable Farm often failed to compensate workers at time and one half the adverse effect wage rate for the specific agricultural task being performed when they worked over 40 hours in a work week. The company also often failed to combine hours employees worked in both farming and packaging operations and to pay the required wage rate. The investigation reviewed pay records from May 1st of 2021 through December 15th of 2021. Missouri Vegetable Farm LLC is part of the Proffer Company, a family owned and operated full line wholesale produce company that farms in Missouri and Arkansas.