A Kentucky tobacco farm facing “crippling” penalties is suing the federal government, alleging proceedings against it are essentially rigged.
Triple R Farms filed suit against the U.S. Department of Labor last week over a $70,000 fine that stemmed from allegations it owed back wages to seasonal workers from a visa program. The farm says workers left early on their own but, for now, must mount its defense before an agency judge rather than in court.
Triple R says the DOL has appointed itself “prosecutor, judge and jury” and is hoping to avoid having its arguments heard by an administrative law judge. The issue has made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in 2024 that companies, in certain cases, are entitled to their Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial, rather than going before a Securities Exchange Commission ALJ.
“Still, DOL proceeds undeterred,” the lawsuit says. “Triple R Farms has diligently pursued its available options to vindicate its constitutional rights in the agency, but DOL has repeatedly rebuffed those efforts.”
That includes the ALJ rejecting the request for a jury trial in December, despite the Third Circuit in Philadelphia already finding the DOL’s proceedings violated Sun Valley Orchard’s right to trial.
And it isn’t just federal agencies called out for this structure. A case pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court asks whether a financial professional can go to court to fight the state Department of Banking and Securities.
For Triple R, it faces a September hearing before the ALJ to determine its case.
“Triple R Farms is suffering ongoing and irreparable harm, as it is being forced to defend itself in an unconstitutional proceeding overseen by an illegitimate agency ‘judge,’” the suit says.
“That harm will compound further if the September hearing goes forward, as the hearing will be presided over by an ALJ (in violation of Article III) who will make fact findings without honoring Triple R’s jury trial right (in violation of the Seventh Amendment).”
The DOL pursued it case against Triple R over requirements for transportation and wages for workers from the H-2A visa program, which lets companies bring in foreign workers when no domestic help is available.
Triple R is owned by a married couple, David and Debbie Ross. David plants the seeds in the spring but needs help in the fall, and workers are paid more than prevailing federal and state minimum wages and given free lodging at the farm.
In 2021, DOL audited the company. More than a year later, it imposed a $70,000 penalty over a tough year that led to the workers not needing to stay for the entirety of the agreement. Triple R was required to guarantee three-fourths of the workdays promised, but not if the worker “voluntarily abandons employment.”
Triple R offered to have the laborers perform clean-up tasks, but they left early. They’d also offered a school bus for transportation of the 11 workers, but they preferred a van with a seating capacity of eight and no seatbelts.
Joseph Bilby of Sequeria Bilby filed the case and is assisted by the Institute for Justice.
