Washington Farm Labor Contractor Fined $700,000 for Breaking Worker Protection Laws

A Washington farm labor contracting company faces nearly $700,000 in fines for labor violations.

The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries cited Superbee Contracting LLC, of Moxee in Yakima County, with breaking six farmworker protection laws involving nearly 1,200 workers across 15 farms in four Washington counties and one county in Oregon.

The L&I citation is on top of federal criminal charges in a separate farmworker exploitation case against Superbee’s controller and business agent Giovanna Sierra Carrillo that stem from her work as an official with another farm labor contracting company. The Yakima woman pleaded guilty in April to fraud in contracting foreign laborers and to aggravated identity theft. She is scheduled to be sentenced on September 24 in U.S. District Court in Richland.

An investigation into Superbee reportedly found the business lied on its farm labor contractor licensing application, saying it did not transport workers. Liability insurance is required to protect workers if a contractor is going to transport them, and Superbee did not have any coverage, according to L&I.

The Superbee violations, which occurred over 2023 and 2024, carry $692,750 in penalties. They include:

• Failing to provide required written information on work location, type of crops, specific job tasks, housing, transportation and the amount to be paid to 702 workers.
• Giving only some of the required information to another 487 employees.
• Failing to provide proof the business gave pay statements to its nearly 1,200 workers.
• Transporting workers without having liability insurance.
• Hiring an unlicensed farm labor contractor.