USA Bureau

back after the U.S. Department of Labor said the company illegally used deductions to pay for political donations.

A news release from the DOL said Titan Fruit & Vegetable Co. Inc, based in Ridge Spring, violated a program that allows for non-immigrant foreign workers to “perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature,” by requesting its workers make political donations.

The nature of those political donations was not disclosed in the DOL news release.

Titan’s wage deductions made it so the temporary employees’ wages fell below the required $11.13 an hour, according to the DOL.

The DOL also said Titan withheld a “cleaning fee” from employees’ wages. That fee was paid to a local cleaning crew for employee-provided housing, the news release said.

The agriculture company, which is the largest peach producer in South Carolina, had to pay more than $338,000 in wages back to 1,341 employees, according to a requirement in a consent finding from a judge within the Department of Labor’s Administrative Court.

The DOL is still searching for 617 workers who are owed the remaining $132,308.

According to a statement from Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel, deductions from worker’s wages are forbidden unless they are included in their contract.

Titan also allowed workers to travel in vehicles that were unsafe, among other program regulation violations. This resulted in the division fining Titan $2,850, according to the DOL.

The DOL is asking the public to help them find the remaining workers who may be owed their wages back.

Anyone looking to see if they are owed wages can go to the division’s Workers Owed Wages database.

A news release from the DOL said that callers can communicate with the department by calling 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

WIS News reached out to Titan Fruit & Vegetable Co. Inc for comment on this news release.