(Wines&Vines) - Many wineries in California and throughout the United States use the services of agricultural labor contractors that bring in immigrant or migrant employees to work during peak seasons. Despite the moving target of U.S. immigration policy, these contractors operate under the regulation of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). If laws protecting employees are not upheld, wineries can also become party to regulatory action.

Last week, Wines & Vines received a notice from Jose Carnevali, deputy regional director of public affairs at the USDA’s San Francisco office, which cast light on a recent event and its resolution.

“The Wage and Hour Division in San Francisco has secured an enhanced compliance agreement with a large grower and distributor of wine grapes in Northern California's Livermore Valley region. The agreement follows an investigation of Wente Vineyards’ farm labor contractor Abel Mendoza that found wage and transportation violations under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. Because of the severity of the findings, Wente Vineyards worked collaboratively with the division in putting together a solid compliance plan to prevent further violations of applicable agriculture labor laws by the company’s farm labor contractors.”

We spoke with Carnevali and Alberto Raymond, assistant district director for the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, to learn how the contractor violated regulations, and how they will be avoided in the future. Raymond oversees enforcement in 13 Northern California counties from Monterey to the Oregon border. Although he could not provide specifics or a link to the Wente settlement, he explained DOL’s mission and procedures.