PORTLAND, Maine — A group of 18 migrant workers that sued two blueberry harvesters, a labor contractor and property owners over alleged mistreatment during the 2008 blueberry harvest has reached a confidential settlement.
The parties in the case notified the court about the agreement late last week.
Mike Guare, an attorney with Pine Tree Legal Assistance representing the workers, said he could not comment on the specifics of the deal.
“‘Our clients are pleased with the settlement’ is pretty much all I can say,” Guare said.
The settlement comes about a year after nonprofit Pine Tree filed allegations of more than 250 violations of the federal Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, including being misled about pay and housing infested with insects.
Pine Tree, which helps people who can’t afford an attorney, pursued the case through a special unit focused on agricultural workers in Maine.
Guare said the allegations his clients made and filed as part of the 300-page complaint “were some of the most serious we’ve ever seen, which accounts for the length of the complaint and the number of claims that they made.”
Frank McGuire, an attorney for the primary defendants in the case, said last June that both blueberry harvesting companies he represents “firmly deny” the allegations they mistreated workers.”
McGuire was not immediately available for comment Thursday morning.
The lawsuit involved 18 men and women, whom the suit states were U.S. citizens born in Haiti or Haitians who are permanent residents of the United States. All but three of the plaintiffs were Florida residents.
The lawsuit claimed labor recruiter Carol Paul of Lamoine violated the workers’ rights while he was working under contract with Ellsworth-based Coastal Blueberry Service Inc. and Hancock Foods Inc. in Hancock during the 2008 blueberry season.
The lawsuit also named as defendants individual and corporate property owners associated with either company, some of whom filed counterclaims against other defendants during the course of the case.
Much of the initial complaint involved Paul, the recruiter, saying he retaliated against several workers after they consulted a private attorney regarding their rights under the federal migrant worker law. It alleges Paul was responsible for misleading workers while operating as an agent for Coastal Blueberry and Hancock Foods.