State cites farm labor contractors at local groves

By Lindsay Jones, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 5, 2004

Recent sweeps of citrus groves in several Florida counties, including St. Lucie and Okeechobee,

left several farm labor contractors with citations accusing them of violating farm labor laws, state

officials announced Wednesday.

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation set up the early-morning sweeps and

roadblocks outside the groves in January -- in the midst of the citrus season -- in an effort to catch

contractors whose groves are unsafe or unsanitary, said Mark Whitten, director of professions and

regulations for the department.

No arrests were made in the inspections, which covered at least 10 groves across St. Lucie,

Okeechobee, Hardee, Polk and Collier counties, though the farm labor contractors cited face

civil fines of up to $1,000 for farm violations and $2,500 for child labor law violations.

"We do this proactive enforcement to make sure they are complying," Whitten said. "We are always

going to find a percentage of folks who register who do not comply."

In St. Lucie County, field labor chiefs at four groves -- Gracewood, Conoley Grove, Evans Grove

and Scott Ranch -- received citations for "no field sanitation," which means the grove could have

been without toilet facilities, toilet paper, water, drinking cups or hand-washing facilities, Whitten said.

Gracewood President John Luther said Wednesday evening he was unaware of the sweep and

that one of his subcontractors had been cited. Luther said the subcontractor, Augustin Gomez,

had met all the state requirements in the past.

"I will follow up and find out what was the problem," Luther said. "I will make sure he has corrected that."

The only other violation from St. Lucie County was at Conoley Grove, where labor crew chief Inrico

Flores failed to show his license.

In Okeechobee County, investigators found 10 total violations at four groves: Evans Grove, Brad Rich Grove,

Williamson Cattle and Conoley Grove. The violations covered a variety of laws, including no field sanitation,

failure to post information and transportation violations. No one could be reached Wednesday at the

Okeechobee groves.

"They are all serious because they affect the health and welfare of the workers," said Meg Shannon,

a spokeswoman for the department.

Six roadblocks to check vehicles entering groves in Hardee and Polk counties on Jan. 22 resulted in

19 violations, including several transportation violations for overloading vehicles and using unauthorized

drivers or vehicles, as well as several child labor violations. No groves in St. Lucie or Okeechobee, which

were inspected Jan. 8 and Jan. 9, were cited for child labor violations.

Two groves, Severt Farms and Del Campo, received citations Jan. 21 in Collier County for both transportation

and sanitation violations.

Grove owners are required to hire licensed contractors, who then are responsible for abiding by all other

farm and child labor laws, said Rob Williams, director of the Migrant Farm Worker Justice Project for

Florida Legal Services.

Williams praised the sweeps and called for more.

"I think (the sweeps are) great and what should be going on all the time, since really the story is that there

are 3,800 of these people in Florida and almost all of them are in noncompliance," Williams said. "In order

to have any real deterrent, there has to be a real significant likelihood that someone will get caught."

Since July 2003, the Department of Business and Professional Regulations has conducted 21 similar sweeps

throughout the state, which have turned up 257 violations. Whitten guaranteed more such investigations in

additional counties, including Palm Beach County, which is now in the midst of winter vegetable season

in the Glades.

"The program knows what crops are being harvested and when. These are the places we target, when the

labor is occurring. I want to be out there when the trucks start rolling in," Whitten said