Owatonna's Bushel Boy agrees to pay nearly $200K in overtime wages to migrant workers

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Owatonna-based Bushel Boy has agreed to pay nearly $200,000 in backpay to almost 100 of its workers after an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.

The tomato-growing company and its Arizona-based farm labor contractor were found to have violated the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act by withholding overtime pay between August 2020 and August 2022, despite its employees consistently working 48 hours per week during that time, according to the labor department.

Bushel Boy agreed to pay $97,242.84 in back wages and $97,242.84 "liquidated damages" to the impacted workers, the department said.

"The department appreciates Bushel Boy's willingness to quickly resolve this matter," said Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach.

The department says Bushel Boy was also assessed a penalty of $47,000, which will be stayed if the company doesn't violate "certain labor laws" in the next three years.

In 2023's legislative session, Minnesota updated a labor law that requires companies that hire migrant workers to provide them a guaranteed 70 hours of pay every two weeks and written information about their compensation, according to the department.