Several Southwest Michigan farms were cited by the US Department of Labor this week for violating migrant housing and child labor laws. James Smith, Director of the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division in Detroit, announced on Tuesday that more than 36-thousand dollars in fines were issued to growers in five counties after an investigation that covered 35 operations. Among the growers to be fined were Adkin Blue Ribbon Packing Company in Van Buren County, which was cited for child labor law violations. Smith said that a six-year old was found working in a field there. Others found in violation of the Migrant and Seasonal Worker Protection Act included Froehlich Farms in Berrien Center...Schaenfeld Farms in Berrien County...Tony Brush Farm in South Haven...Scherer Fruit Farms in Bloomingdale...and Berrybrook Enterprises in Dowagiac. Smith said that the cases involved unsanitary living quarters and unlicensed labor camps where migrant workers were living.
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