LIHUE — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last week claimed victory in its 2011 discrimination case against Global Horizons, Inc., a Beverly Hills-based farm labor contractor with six client farms in Hawaii. Federal Judge Leslie Kobayashi of the U.S.
LIHUE — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last week claimed victory in its 2011 discrimination case against Global Horizons, Inc., a Beverly Hills-based farm labor contractor with six client farms in Hawaii.
Federal Judge Leslie Kobayashi of the U.S. District Court in Honolulu ruled that Global violated federal anti-discrimination laws and was liable for harassment, discrimination and retaliation against nearly 600 Thai laborers across the state around a decade ago.
Global, which helps provide labor force for companies who need manpower, is left holding the brunt of the abuse charges as all six Hawaii growers who used the company’s services have sought separate settlements, he said.
Local grower Kauai Coffee Company is one of the six companies and working out the terms of a related EEOC settlement to be revealed April 4.
“That partial summary judgment was between the court, the EEOC and Global Horizon,” said KCC president and general manager Wayne Katayama. “It wasn’t helpful for them (Global), and we are separate and apart from that, with our own path that we are following to the settlement with the EEOC.”
The court based its decision on what Kobayashi said was evidence of a pattern and practice of discrimination and not of isolated events. The case followed an EEOC investigation on complaints from Thai farm workers hired into the U.S. to work under the H2-A visa program.
In an EEOC press release, Anna Park, regional attorney for Los Angeles that includes Hawaii in its jurisdiction, said the judgment for liability vindicates the rights of Thai farm workers. They survived inhumane abuses and discrimination by employers that controlled their working conditions, where they lived, what they could eat, and the right to move around freely, she said.
“Employers will be held accountable for targeting workers for exploitation based on illegal stereotyping due to race or the country they come from,” Park stated.
In its written response, Global Horizons’ attorneys argued the EEOC tactics were essentially trying for a “third bite of the apple” by seeking reconsideration of the court’s prior rulings through inappropriate means.
The court found Global did not identify issues of material fact that would serve as a defense to its liability for the actions of its supervisors against the workers at the various client farms.
In an email, A&B responded to the court ruling by emphasizing that its focus was on Global Horizons and not with A&B or Kauai Coffee. The statement said that A&B continues to have discussions with EEOC to try to resolve this litigation and does not comment on pending litigation.
An EEOC investigation found that between 2003 and 2007, Global enticed male laborers from Thailand with false promises of steady, high-paying agricultural jobs and temporary visas. Passports were confiscated and recruiting fees created insurmountable debt, while workers were verbally and physically abused and threatened with deportation if they complained about unreasonable conditions.
Del Monte Fresh Produce already settled a $1.2 million lawsuit in November. The EEOC reached a settlement in principle with KCC in November, as it did with Captain Cook Coffee Company, Kelena Farms, and MacFarms.
As the notices are processed, the court’s ruling last week means that the matter is closed, said Christine Park-Gonzalez, a program analyst with EEOC — LA. The decision means that the court will not hear more arguments on the merits of the charges.
“The settlements are filed but they are still hammering it out,” Park-Gonzalez said. “We cannot share details on Kauai Coffee at this time.”
