Two Maine blueberry companies and several housing owners are being sued for more than 250 alleged labor violations against 18 migrant workers.
The Portland Press Herald reported that the Pine Tree Legal Assistance filed the lawsuit on behalf of the migrant workers in U.S. District Court on July 3, alleging that federal wage and labor violations were made during the 2008 blueberry harvest. Pine Tree is a nonprofit group that represents people who couldn’t afford legal help otherwise.
The lawsuit targets Ellsworth-based Coastal Blueberry Service Inc. and Hancock-based Hancock Foods Inc, which are owned by the same family; Carol Paul, a recruiter who transported the workers; and the owners of several buildings where the workers lived.
Pine Tree’s lawsuit alleges that the workers were lied to, lived in substandard living conditions, retaliated against if they sought any legal help and had some of their wages stole.
An attorney for the two blueberry companies told the Associated Press that they deny the allegations. Paul could not be reached by the Press Herald, though it noted that he is currently banned from farm labor contracting according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
