The Washington Times

Calif. green energy firm fined for paying Mexican labor mere pesos

Bloom Energy Corp. has been ordered by a U.S. District Court Judge to pay $31,922 back to employees in Mexico that it had underpaid.

Bloom Energy has been paying 14 workers brought to the United States from Chihuahua, Mexico, less than $3 per hour for work performed at the company headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., CBS San Francisco reports.

Federal investigators found that the workers were paid the equivalent of $2.66 per hour in Mexican pesos, according to CBS. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked.

“It is appalling that this was happening right in the heart of Silicon Valley, one of the wealthiest per capita areas in the U.S.,” said Ruben Rosalez, regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division in the West, CBS reports.

Bloom Energy has paid the back wages and has agreed to comply in the future.

© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

Comments
blog comments powered by Disqus

      Independent voices from the TWT Communities

      The Editors Say

      We welcome you to the intimate and personal thoughts on the news and events we, as editors, watch, read, and discuss with our writers every day.

      Sightseers' Delight

      Consummate traveler Todd DeFeo explores the unique stories that make destinations worth going to.