KENNEWICK, Wash. – The Washington State Attorney General’s Office has ordered King Fuji Ranch to change its hiring practices and pay $180,000 stemming from an investigation that revealed discriminatory practices and misrepresentations to local farmworkers about job opportunities, the AG’s office said in a release.
Attorney General Nick Brown filed a resolution in Benton County Superior Court to conclude the investigation and avoid litigation.
King Fuji Ranch, managed by Michael Taggares, with a corporate office in Richland, is known for growing apples and wine grapes in central Washington.
The resolution requires King Fuji to protect local farmworkers from being displaced by foreign H-2A workers. It mandates the adoption of a nondiscrimination policy, subject to approval by the Attorney General’s Office, and training for employees and supervisors for five years on state civil rights and consumer protection laws.
Between 2016 and 2019, the A-G’s office said King Fuji Ranch misrepresented job requirements to local workers, demanding three months of tree fruit experience, while not imposing the same criteria on H-2A workers recruited from Mexico.
The Attorney General’s Office argued that this practice constituted sex and national origin discrimination and violated the Consumer Protection Act.
“Employers cannot discriminate against willing, available local workers in order to abuse foreign visa programs,” AG Brown said in the release.
Andrea Schmitt, an attorney with Columbia Legal Services, highlighted the misuse of the H-2A program, saying, “We often see growers deceiving local farmworkers to avoid hiring them because the growers prefer H-2A workers who can’t change jobs regardless of working conditions.”
