Farmworkers to receive compensation from Shinn & Son under consent decree regarding discriminatory and deceptive hiring practices

Toppenish-based Shinn & Son will pay $300,000 and reform its hiring and training practices under a consent decree with Washington state to resolve allegations the farm discriminated against local farmworkers and women while misleading jobseekers.

People who lost out on work or were otherwise hurt by Shinn & Son’s actions will receive compensation from the settlement, with amounts ranging from about $5,000 to $25,000, depending on the number and severity of each worker’s claims. Shinn & Son grows hops, corn, hemp, and pumpkin and has operated in Washington since 1980.

Shinn & Son fired two crews of local farmworkers in the spring of 2023, shortly after the grower received approval from the U.S. Department of Labor to bring in foreign guestworkers through the H-2A visa program, according to the AGO’s complaint filed in Yakima County Superior Court. The employer told the local farmworkers, most of whom were women, that there was no available work, even though 95 H-2A workers started working in the fields in late April 2023.

Between March and May 2023, at least 20 women who had been let go by Shinn & Son reapplied for work but were repeatedly told there were no openings. Since at least 2022, the employer demonstrated a pattern of discrimination against female employees, telling them they were “old grandmas,” “useless,” and should be put in nursing homes.

“Bringing in temporary guestworkers when there are qualified people here in Washington willing and able to do the work is an abuse of the system and a violation of our laws,” Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said. “I’m determined to hold employers accountable when they circumvent our state’s worker protections.”

H-2A program requirements

The federal H-2A program is meant to address temporary labor shortages by allowing employers to hire seasonal agricultural workers from other countries. To be eligible for the H-2A program, employers must certify that there is a shortage of U.S.-based workers who are willing, qualified, and able to work.

As part of the program, employers must offer local workers the same benefits, wages, guarantee of hours, and working conditions offered to foreign H-2A workers, which the AGO alleged Shinn & Son failed to do.

Columbia Legal Services, a legal aid organization, initially brought the issue of Shinn & Son’s employment practices to the attention of the Attorney General’s Office.

The AGO’s complaint alleges that Shinn & Son violated the Washington State Consumer Protection Act by making deceptive representations to local workers about the availability of jobs. The employer is also accused of violating the Washington Law Against Discrimination by discriminating against domestic farmworkers based on their citizenship or immigration status and against female workers on the basis of sex. Shinn & Son disputes that it engaged in any of the alleged conduct.

Under the consent decree, Shinn & Son cannot misrepresent the jobs it has available and the terms and conditions, including wages. The employer is also barred from discriminating against people based on their sex or immigration status when it comes to employment. The order also requires Shinn & Son to adopt a nondiscrimination policy and share it with employees in English and Spanish.

The consent decree, which will be in effect for five years, includes recordkeeping and reporting requirements related to compliance and mandates that Shinn & Son provide annual trainings to supervisors about their obligations under Washington consumer protection and anti-discrimination laws.

A copy of the consent decree is available here, and the complaint is available here.

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