The Department of Labor has ordered three cross-border logistics companies in the San Diego area to pay $840,000 in back wages and fines to warehouse and transportation workers.
The wages were recovered from Ruffo de Alba Forwarders LP, SAI Logistics Experts Inc. and Moving Technologies of America Inc. for 32 Mexican nationals, some paid as little as $2.77 an hour, according to a news release.
“Companies along the U.S. southern border that mistakenly believe they can exploit Mexican nationals by paying illegally low wages should take note of the outcome of these investigations,” Min Park-Chung, Wage and Hour Division district director in San Diego, said in the release. “To root out employers who abuse and exploit workers for profit, the division is working closely with the Consulate General of Mexico to educate Mexican nationals about their rights as workers.”
Related: Logistics companies ordered to pay warehouse workers $1M in back pay
The Labor Department said Moving Technologies of America, a subsidiary of Vadeto Group LLC, paid five workers as low as $2.77 per hour in Mexican pesos.
Investigators said Edgar Vargas, owner of Moving Technologies of America, alleged the workers were “independent contractors” paid by OGEID Formacion Empresarial SA DE CV in Mexico, which investigators determined was another Vadeto Group subsidiary.
Vargas tried to mask the workers’ employment status by assigning them code numbers to use in place of their names when signing the company’s visitor log, investigators said.
A cease-and-desist letter was also issued against Vargas and Moving Technologies of America due to alleged retaliation against workers who cooperated with investigators.
Following its investigation, the labor department recovered $75,132 — representing $37,566 in back wages and an equal amount in damages — for the five employees and assessed $3,324 in penalties to Vargas and Moving Technologies of America for repeated disregard of the law.
Ruffo de Alba Forwarders and SAI Logistics Experts used similar underpayment practices against Mexican National employees.
Ruffo de Alba Forwarders paid 14 workers at rates of $3.27 per hour in Mexican pesos, while SAI Logistics Experts paid 13 workers $3.86 per hour in Mexican pesos, investigators said.
Ruffo de Alba Forwarders and owner Andres Ruffo was ordered to pay $222,899 in wages owed to its 14 workers and damages totaling $445,798, as well as $8,645 in penalties for their misconduct to the department.
SAI Logistics Experts was ordered to pay $318,249 in wages, overtime and liquidated damages owed to 13 workers and pay the department $8,645 in penalties.
In a related case, the department filed a lawsuit against Calexico, California-based NBG Logistics Alliance Inc. on June 21 for allegedly obstructing a similar investigation and retaliating against employees. The company also has a location in San Diego.
Investigators allege NBG Logistics Alliance ferried employees to a local fast-food restaurant quickly when investigators showed up at an NBG warehouse.
“The employees were then told to return to Mexico, preventing them from meeting with investigators onsite,” the Labor Department said. “The company later fired some of the workers shortly after. The department seeks a preliminary injunction forbidding further retaliation against workers and interference with the investigation.”