Madras, Oregon – A local resident was awarded almost $208,000 this February after a federal jury concluded that an organic vegetable farm illegally favored foreign workers over him because of his nationality. Virgilio Carvajal, 61, a U.S. citizen since 2013, sought employment with Cal Farms in 2019 and 2020 but was repeatedly overlooked in favor of workers from abroad.
Cal Farms, like many U.S. agricultural operations, utilized the H-2A visa program which permits the hiring of foreign labor when suitable local workers are supposedly unavailable. This federal program mandates that farms make genuine efforts to recruit domestically before looking overseas. However, Carvajal’s attorneys argued that the farm did not adhere to these requirements.
One of Carvajal’s lawyers, Michael Dale of the Northwest Workers’ Justice Project, highlighted the challenges posed by the H-2A program. Dale pointed out that the visas bind workers to one employer, dissuading them from leaving abusive work situations due to the risk of having to exit the U.S. This, he noted, creates a workforce willing to endure extreme conditions for the promise of future employment opportunities in the States.
According to Dale, Cal Farms justified their initial refusal to employ Carvajal in 2019 by citing his incomplete tenure with them in 2008. Following intervention by a state advocate monitoring fair treatment in agriculture, the farm promised to reconsider Carvajal. Although they eventually interviewed him and promised a subsequent job start date, they failed to follow through for over six weeks, during which time they had already employed H-2A workers. By the time Carvajal was contacted, he had secured employment elsewhere. In 2020, his application was rejected under the pretext that he had not committed to the job offered the previous year.
The jury awarded Carvajal $17,712 for lost wages and a further $190,000 for emotional distress. Dale remarked that Carvajal, who supports a family of eight and has put his older children through college, felt a deep sense of vindication and reaffirmation of his faith in the American legal system following the verdict.
Cases like Carvajal’s, though rare, underscore persistent issues within the H-2A visa scheme affecting both U.S. and migrant laborers, according to Dale. He criticized the program’s oversight, suggesting that neither local nor foreign workers are adequately protected or compensated under current regulations.
This account sheds light on the complexities and potential unfairness within agricultural hiring practices, illustrating how legal interventions can restore fairness in a system fraught with challenges.
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