Shelton flower company owes workers, feds say

A Shelton floral company will pay workers back wages and fines of $1.85 million after the U.S. Department of Labor sued on behalf of the workers March 21 in US District Court, Western Washington.

Shelton business Continental Floral LLC, known as Continental Floral Greens, owner Jim Milgard, Jr. and Pacific Northwest General Manager Scott Schauer agreed to a consent judgment March 26 and will not contest claims they didn’t pay migrant workers overtime wages, failed to provide the workers safe transportation and safe housing, and did not disclose required employment details to the workers, according to the judgment.

The investigation started after 14 migrant workers were injured when their van crashed in Cowlitz County in November 2022, according to a news release by the Labor Department.

Four Salvadoran workers suffered serious injuries in the wreck and officials “determined the Continental Floral Greens’ employee driving the van lacked required certification to operate the vehicle,” according to the release.

Investigators found more than 500 employees in the Pacific Northwest operations worked more than 40 hours per week without overtime pay in violation of their H-2B work permits.

Continental also did not disclose it intended to pay piece rate wages for some jobs, investigators said.

The company employed 60 workers in Belfair and 367 in Shelton for the fall and winter season in 2022 and paid them $16.18 an hour, according to the complaint filed by Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su.

The company also operated in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Continental hired the nonagricultural workers to produce wreaths, garland, table centerpieces, decorative products and greenery for bouquets for the winter holiday season and some employees cut greens in the forests owned by Continental, the complaint states.

The company has eight farms, production and distribution facilities and sales and management offices in California, Florida, North Carolina, Oregon and Washington, according to the news release.

The workers will receive $888,000 in back wages and $888,000 in liquidated damages. The court also ordered Continental to pay $74,000 in additional back wages to the workers due to Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act violations, and $40,000 in penalties to the Labor Department.

“The Wage and Hour Division is committed to holding employers accountable so that vulnerable workers come home safe and properly compensated at the end of every day. We will continue using every tool at our disposal to ensure U.S. workers and H-2B workers receive the highest protections to which they are entitled, including rights to overtime pay,” District Director Thomas Silva in Seattle said in a statement.

“Federal law requires employers hiring workers from outside the U.S. on temporary nonagricultural visas to ensure safe working conditions and pay the legal prevailing wage, including overtime. Employers must also accurately represent the terms and conditions of those jobs so that U.S. workers have a full and fair opportunity to work those jobs. Continental Floral failed on all counts,” Regional Solicitor of Labor Marc Pilotin in San Francisco said in a statement.

Under terms of the judgment, Continental agrees to conduct a self-audit for the next five years to ensure the company complies with all federal laws regarding H-2B employees.

Continental’s attorney Gregor Hensrude did not respond to a request for comment from the Journal.