The Mexican consulate urged workers to report abuses without fear.
The United States Department of Labor, through investigators from the Mexican consulate, detected "a worrying" increase in wage theft by warehouses and cargo transportation and logistics companies that operate in the border area with Mexico. Therefore, they seek to stop these practices through complaints.
This trend has been reflected in three recent investigations in San Diego (USA) that have resulted in the recovery of almost US$840,000 for 32 employees; since there were workers who received a payment of US$ 3 per hour.
For this reason, the Mexican consulate urged workers to report abuses without fear.
The department's Wage and Hour Division determined that Ruffo of Alba Forwarders LP, SAI Logistics Exports Inc. and Moving Technologies of America Inc. knowingly and recklessly underpaid affected workers and violated numerous provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
“The Department of Labor is committed to continuing its years-long effort to bring the warehouse, logistics and cross-border transportation industry into compliance with federal workplace guarantees regarding minimum wage and overtime,” said the Regional Labor Attorney. Marc Pilotin in San Francisco.
"Too many employees working in these cross-border operations continue to suffer the theft of their legal wages under American law. The department will do everything in its power to protect the rights of all people who work in our country," he said.
Specifically, division investigators found that each of these employers violated the law as follows:
Ruffo of Alba Forwarders LP, a cross-border company that offers logistics and transportation services, did not pay at least the minimum hourly wage of US$7.25 to workers and denied overtime pay as required for hours worked more beyond 40 hours in a work week to employees who crossed from Mexico to the United States to work.
In some cases, the employer paid workers as little as the equivalent of US$3.27 per hour in Mexican pesos.
To resolve the matter, the department obtained a consent judgment in the District Court for the Southern District of California ordering Ruffo of Alba Forwarders and its owner Andrés Ruffo to pay 14 workers US$222,899 in unpaid wages and an equal amount in compensation for damages totaling US$445,798, as well as US$8,645 in fines for his misconduct towards the department.
The court also ordered employers to hire an independent entity to conduct FLSA training annually.
SAI Logistics Experts Inc., a company specializing in cross-border freight transportation, denied Mexican workers required overtime pay and also failed to meet federal minimum wage requirements.
The employer paid Mexican workers only US$3.86 per hour in Mexican pesos.
A consent judgment issued by the same court ordered SAI and its agents to pay US$318,249 in minimum wage, overtime and injury compensation to 13 workers and pay the department US$8,645 in fines.
The court also required the company to hire an independent entity to provide FLSA training at least annually.
Moving Technologies of America, a transportation and distribution subsidiary of Vadeto Group LLC in San Diego, failed to pay five employees the required federal minimum wage, paying them in Mexican pesos and paying some workers as little as $2.77 an hour.
After its investigation, the division recovered $75,132 - representing $37,566 in back wages and an equal amount in damages - for five employees. He also fined the company $3,324 for its deliberate and repeated disregard for the law.
"Businesses along the US southern border that mistakenly believe they can exploit Mexican nationals by paying illegally low wages should take note of the outcome of these investigations," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Min. Park-Chung, in San Diego.
“To root out employers who abuse and exploit workers for profit, the Wage and Hour Division is working closely with the Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego to educate Mexican citizens in the region about their rights as workers. , including the right to report labor violations without fear of threats and intimidation.”
