To read comments by the panel leaders and statements from witnesses at the hearing, click here. For an NPR story that provides background on the dispute, click here.
Leaders of a House Agriculture subcommittee criticized the Labor Department during a hearing as high-handed and unfair in its use of its authority to prevent shipment of farm products when it believes growers under-paid their workers. The so-called hot goods power has been an issue in Oregon fruit farms since 2012. Growers say they were coerced into signing consent agreements or see their crops wither in the warehouse. The subcommittee leaders, Republican Austin Scott of Georgia and Democrat Kurt Schrader of Oregon, have filed a bill to prevent the Labor Department from using the “hot goods” provision against perishable agricultural products. The head of the Labor Department’s wage and hour division defended the practice.
To read comments by the panel leaders and statements from witnesses at the hearing, click here. For an NPR story that provides background on the dispute, click here.