DOL Pops 'Popsy Pop' for $82K in H-2B Violations

"Popsy Pop LLC in Somerdale has agreed to pay $34,200 in back wages to 55 workers and $48,000 in civil money penalties after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found willful violations of the H-2B provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.  The H-2B guest worker program permits employers to temporarily hire nonimmigrants to perform nonagricultural labor or services in the United States.  Popsy Pop recruited workers from Eastern Europe, Central and South America and the Caribbean to drive trucks and sell ice cream throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.  The investigation found that the company misrepresented the number of positions available and dates of need when submitting an application for workers under the H-2B program; misrepresented the wages to be paid when recruiting U.S. workers; placed workers in areas outside the area of intended employment described on the application; failed to pay the workers the offered wage rate indicated on the application; and failed to notify federal agencies — the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — when H-2B workers were separated early from their employment." - DOL, Dec. 3, 2012.