Preferring

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 … Read more