Two Turlock employers were found to have violated multiple labor laws following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Roberto Perez Farms and Perez Bros Farms Inc. were both found to have violated laws regarding employee wages, transportation and hiring practices, according to a press release Monday. Investigators discovered the companies were guilty of:

—Illegally rejecting domestic workers

—Failing to pay the required H-2A rate to workers hired alongside H-2A visa workers

—Failing to provide H-2A workers with at least three-quarters of the work hours guaranteed on their contracts, and pay them the wages the program require.

—Failing to reimburse H-2A workers for inbound and outbound transportation, visa and border crossing fees, as the law requires

—Making illegal deductions from pay

—Failing to maintain complete records, as required

It was also determined by the division that the employers transported workers in unsafe vehicles with unsafe tires and inoperable lights, as well as housing workers in unsafe and overcrowded conditions.

Both employers also failed to disclose the conditions of employment, failed to provide wage statements to employees, and failed to pay wages when due.

All of these actions violate the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.

The investigation recovered $82,616 in wages for 92 workers, and a total of $36,765 in penalties was levied against the two companies.

“Agricultural employees violate basic labor laws when they reject domestic workers and instead use, abuse and steal the hard-earned wages and limited funds of guest workers,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Cesar Avila.

During the 2021 fiscal year, Avila’s department recovered over $8.4 million in back wages for 10,000 employees, and assessed $7 million in penalties.

“These violations are all too common in the agriculture industry,” Avila said. “The Wage and Hour Division will continue to use every enforcement tool available to hold accountable those taking advantage [of] vulnerable farmworkers and putting their health at risk.”