A group of foreign truck drivers has taken legal action against a Louisiana-based agricultural company, alleging severe labor violations. On October 2, 2024, Ernesto Jimenez-Gonzalez and Jose Alberto Torres-Martinez filed a class-action complaint in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana against Cora Texas Growers and Harvesters Agricultural Association, Inc. and Cora Texas Manufacturing Company, LLC.
The plaintiffs claim that the defendants engaged in deceptive practices by employing them under H-2A visas meant for agricultural workers while they were actually hired to drive heavy tractor-trailer trucks—an occupation that does not qualify as agricultural work under U.S. law. The lawsuit alleges that over 300 Mexican truck drivers were misled into accepting these positions between 2021 and 2023. According to the complaint, the defendants violated several labor laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Louisiana Wage Payment Act (LWPA), by failing to pay minimum wage, overtime wages, and other contractual obligations.
Jimenez-Gonzalez and Torres-Martinez argue that they were promised certain wages and working conditions which were not met. "Defendants failed to pay Plaintiffs and others similarly situated the federal minimum wage," reads part of their complaint. They also allege that costs incurred for specialized licenses, medical exams, visa fees, transportation from Mexico to Louisiana, and border crossing fees were not reimbursed as required by law. Furthermore, despite working more than 40 hours per week regularly, they claim they never received overtime pay.
The plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages including unpaid wages, liquidated damages under FLSA provisions for willful violations, statutory damages under LWPA claims for failure to timely pay due wages upon contract completion, as well as pre-judgment and post-judgment interest. They also seek declaratory relief to prevent future occurrences of such alleged misconduct by the defendants.
Representing the plaintiffs are attorneys Daniel Davis from Estes Davis Law LLC in Baton Rouge; Dawson Morton from Berkeley; and James M. Knoepp from Columbia. The case is being overseen by Judge EWD-RLB with Case ID: 3:24-cv-00820-EWD-RLB.