South Carolina peach grower took money from farmworkers' pay for political donations, Feds say

Titan Farms, a South Carolina company that supplies fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables to major U.S. retailers, illegally deducted political contributions and cleaning fees from more than 1,300 seasonal foreign workers, according to federal officials.

Billed as the largest peach grower on the East Coast, Titan violated H-2A program rules by requesting workers make political contributions that brought their pay below the required $11.13 hour rate; and by charging workers a cleaning fee for employer-provided housing, the U.S. Department of Labor found. 

Titan was required to pay $338,446 to 1,341 workers, with more than $200,000 distributed to about half of those affected. The agency is now trying to find the remaining 617 workers collectively owed $132,308, it stated.