Meatpacker involved with Guatemalan illegal immigrants is fined nearly $10 million

Meatpacker Is Fined Nearly $10 Million
By Julia Preston
The New York Times
Published: October 29, 2008

State labor authorities levied nearly $10 million in fines Wednesday for wage violations at an Iowa meatpacking plant where nearly 400 illegal immigrant workers were arrested in a raid in May. The fines against Agriprocessors Inc., one of the country's largest kosher meatpackers, were the largest wage violations penalties ever levied in Iowa, state officials said. About $9.6 million of the fines were for illegal paycheck deductions the company made for protective jackets and other uniforms that packinghouse
workers were required to wear. Iowa inspectors found 96,436 deductions for uniforms from the paychecks of 2,001 workers, and brought fines of $100 per incident. The workers' wages had been reduced by $192,597, Iowa officials said. "You cannot legally deduct for clothing required by the company," said Kerry Koonce, a spokeswoman for Iowa Workforce Development, the state's labor department.
Agriprocessors was also fined $339,700 for illegally deducting more than $72,000 from the paychecks of 1,073 workers for "sales tax." The company also failed to give final paychecks to 42 workers arrested in the raid and owes $264,786.45 in back wages, Iowa officials said. The fines cover violations from January 2006 through June of this year, including six weeks after May 12, when immigration authorities arrested 389 workers at the Postville plant, illegal immigrants from Guatemala.
"Once again, Agriprocessors has demonstrated a complete disregard for Iowa law," Iowa's labor commissioner, Dave Neil, said in a statement. Last month the Iowa attorney general brought criminal charges against Agriprocessors for more than 9,300 misdemeanor child labor violations, involving 32 under-age workers. According to those charges, the company hired workers as young as 13 and put them to work using saws, knives and other equipment prohibited for young workers.
Agriprocessors' chief executive, Bernard Feldman, said the company would fight the charges. "We have grave doubts as to the appropriateness of the claimed violations, and we also take issue with the intended sanction imposed per claim," said Mr. Feldman, who was named to his post in September, after the child labor indictments were announced.
Also on Wednesday, a human resources manager from the Postville plant pleaded guilty in federal court in Cedar Rapids to harboring illegal immigrants and identity theft. The manager, Laura Althouse, 38, helped illegal immigrant workers obtain false resident visa numbers so they Could be hired at the plant, according to her plea. The charge of identity theft carries a mandatory two-year minimum prison sentence. Ms. Althouse also faces a maximum sentence of 12 years on the harboring charge and fines of up to $500,000. Another human resources manager, Karina Freund, faces similar charges. Ms. Althouse is the first Agriprocessors manager to be convicted on the identity theft charge, which was also brought against many workers. In plea
bargains, more than 200 immigrants pleaded guilty to lesser charges of document fraud. Most finished serving their sentences of five months in prison earlier this month, and were deported.
No federal charges have been brought against senior managers and owners of Agriprocessors. The owner, Aaron Rubashkin, and his son Sholom, the top manager of the plant at the time of the raid, have been indicted in the child labor case.

¿Horario de 12 horas a.m - p.m. o de 24 horas en la redacción?

Muchas gracias por mantenerme al tanto de la terminología legal. Quiero disculparme pues no he podido responder sus correos, pero le quiero comentar que he estado indispuesta por algún tiempo.

Pero aprovechando su correo, tengo una duda sobre la hora tanto de español a inglés, y visceversa, pues en terminología legal, acá utilizamos el reloj de 24 horas, mientras que en inglés se utiliza el de 12, en general. Por ejemplo: Si en un documento me dicen "por cédula entregada a las 12:00 en punto" debo poner "by order delivered at twelve p.m. or twelve a.m."?. He buscado este dato en internet y parece que aún no se ha estandarizado lo referente a las 12 en punto. ¿Podría usted darme sus comentarios?

Agradezco su atención.

Carmela Franco*

*Nombre ficticio

Legal terminology: "amend"

Amend
(verb) to change or revise a law or contract.
"After the victim had died from the stab wounds inflicted by the defendant, the prosecutor amended the indictment, which had charged the defendant with assault, to charge him with murder."
Synonyms
modify: "The parties modified the contract by changing the rates and delivery times."
alter: "There was no evidence to show that the contract had been altered as alleged by the plaintiff."
Other forms of the word
amendment (noun) the change made to a law or contract. "The 26th amendment to the US Constitution set the voting age at 18."
Common phrases
to amend a statute - to change a law. "The legislature decided to amend the privacy protection statute to prohibit disclosure of marital status."
to amend a complaint - to change the substance of the initial pleading filed in a lawsuit. "The plaintiff amended his complaint to include income lost as a result of the accident."
Related words
amends (noun) - redress for a wrong or injury. "A person who has committed a crime has a legal duty to make amends to her victim."

Legal terminology

Disclose

(verb) to make known, to reveal.

"During the litigation process, parties disclose information by means of the discovery process."

Synonyms

reveal: "The stock market crash revealed certain weaknesses built into the system."

divulge: "The court found that the reporter's decision not to divulge her sources constituted contempt of court."

Antonyms

conceal: "It is a violation of tax laws to conceal income."

Other forms of the word

disclosure: the act of disclosing. "The disclosure that the Prime Minister had significant investments in several major defense contractors led to calls for her resignation."

Common phrases

fail to disclose: "The seller failed to disclose defects in the foundation of the house."

authorized to disclose: "A doctor is not authorized to disclose health information about a patient to any third party."

risk of disclosure: "Whenever information is shared with a third party, the risk of disclosure increases dramatically."

Related words and concepts

disseminate (verb) - to spread information. "Unfortunately, the Internet's role as a media outlet has encouraged people to disseminate not only facts, but rumors as well."

Legal terminology

Appropriate (adjective) suitable, proper "This type of security is not appropriate for non-residents." Synonym(s) befitting, pertinent: "His vulgar language was not befitting a judge." Antonym(s) unsuitable: "Wearing shorts in a courtroom is unsuitable." Other forms of the word appropriate (verb): to take without permission or seize. "She appropriated all of the profits for herself." appropriate (verb): to allocate or set aside for use. "The legislature appropriated funds to combat violence against women." Notes etymology: Late Latin: appropriare to take possession of, from ad to, for + proprius one's own John Locke is quoted as having said: It is not at all times easy to find words appropriate to express our ideas.