Washington grower settles suit with former employees

In January three greenhouse workers settled their labor suit with Northwest Horticulture Inc. in Mapton, Wash. The Yakima Herald reported that each employee was awarded $15,000.
The paper said the former employees had argued in their federal suit that the company had reduced their pay and then fired them for protesting the action. The suit also claimed that the company refused to rehire them.
Two of the plaintiffs were represented by Northwest Justice Project and the other by Columbia Legal Services.
The paper said the three employees harvested nursery stock in the Mount Vernon-based company’s Mabton greenhouses. The worker’s suit alleged violations of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act. The company, which grows liners and finished perennials, operates 30 acres of greenhouses and 600 acres of field production.