A dairy and agricultural company located west of Casa Grande is in trouble with the U.S. Labor Department over its treatment of guest farmworkers from Mexico.
VH Harvesting has been accused of exposing H-2A visa holders to illegal and potentially deadly working conditions.
VH Harvesting is owned by Preston Van Hofwegen, whose lawyer did not return a message left by KJZZ News.
Court records say VH Harvesting hired 26 Mexican guest workers in March through the H-2A program.
Some were reportedly then leased to another agriculture company also in Pinal County. Those who stayed at VH Harvesting allegedly spent long hours driving semitrucks in need of major safety repairs.
Federal labor officials also allege that VH Harvesting gave guest workers substandard housing, did not provide meals or a place to make them, and failed to pay everything people earned.
A trial is scheduled for Nov. 18.
