A federal court has ordered a California-based agriculture employer and its owners to pay back wages and penalties after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation determined the employer neglected to transport agricultural workers in safe vehicles, related to a deadly crash, a violation of federal law.
The court action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division into Lion Farms LLC after a Feb. 23, 2024, fatal vehicle crash that claimed the lives of seven employees and severely injured another. The division found that Lion Farms – owned and operated by Alfred, Bruce, and Daniel Lion – violated the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act by failing to ensure agricultural workers were transported to and from their field sites in safe vehicles, and using unlicensed drivers and vehicles without adequate insurance coverage.
The Lion Farms employers also charged workers a transportation fee, which investigators deemed illegal because of the violations associated with the transportation of the workers. The division calculated that the employers owed $39,013 in back wages to 12 employees. The employers also failed to disclose workers’ permanent addresses and employer identification numbers on wage statements.
The consent judgment, entered on Aug. 26, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, enjoins the employers from future MSPA violations and ordered Lion Farms LLC and its owners to pay $89,886 in civil money penalties on top of the $39,013 in back wages.
“Federal agricultural laws have strict provisions that must be met for employers to employ migrant and seasonal workers,” said Regional Solicitor Marc Pilotin in San Francisco. “This case serves as a stark and solemn reminder of the importance of these provisions. We will continue to use every litigation tool at our disposal to ensure employers meet their obligations and bad actors are held accountable.”
Headquartered in Selma, California, Lion Farms LLC cultivates, grows, and harvests approximately 871 acres of grapes for raisins in Fresno and Madera counties. The company sells their raisins to Lion Raisins Inc. and other packing houses for distribution to major retailers nationwide.
The Wage and Hour Division offers multiple compliance assistance resources, including an agriculture compliance assistance toolkit, to provide employers the information they need to comply with the law. Employers and workers can contact the division at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE (487-9243).
The division’s PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as certain potential violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act.