NEW JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — A farm in South Jersey is at the center of an upcoming United States Supreme Court case that could have major implications on how federal laws are enforced.
Sun Valley Orchards in Swedesboro is facing $500,000 in fines for alleged labor violations of employees working on H-2A visas. Under the H-2A visa program, American employers can hire immigrant workers for temporary or seasonal agricultural work, according to Courthouse News Service.
Robert Johnson, an attorney representing the farm, said this case isn’t necessarily about the details of the farm’s alleged conduct, but the procedure by which regulations are enforced.
Currently, when a farm or other business faces labor law violations, the case is heard by a judge within the agency.
Johnson said a judge within the Department of Labor shouldn’t be the only person settling labor disputes.
“This whole process violates the Constitution because it is just fundamentally unfair,” Johnson said.
Former farm owner Joe Marino said he and many other farmers deserve fair trials with a jury of their peers.
“Not a biased Mickey Mouse courthouse with a sitting Department of Labor judge who was a former Department of Labor attorney.”
The Department of Justice argues that administrative hearings are not only constitutional but also far more efficient than jury trials, which could bog down the entire system and slow enforcement of federal laws within multiple agencies.
The case has been winding through the courts for a decade, and the Supreme Court added the case to its schedule later this year.
The Swedesboro farm is facing $500,000 in fines
The Swedesboro farm is facing $500,000 in fines
