In this three-part special report, The Denver Post details chronic abuses in Colorado’s agricultural supply chain — and the lack of action from state and federal regulators.

The Post’s investigation found federal and state regulators have failed to keep seasonal migrant workers safe or ensure they’re paid correctly and on time.Nearly one in six H-2A visa employers in Colorado have violated federal labor laws, the newspaper found, but hardly any are barred from bringing workers again the following season.

The Post’s yearlong investigation included on-the-ground reporting from across Colorado and interviews with more than three dozen sources, including migrant workers, growers, state and federal labor officials, H-2A experts, outreach workers and attorneys. The newspaper also reviewed hundreds of pages of federal labor investigations and lawsuits.

Read The Post’s Unenforced Labor investigation here:

Part 1: Colorado sheepherders have been exploited for decades. The government has done little to stop it.

Colorado sheepherders are routinely exploited and abused as they tend flocks — alone — through the unrelenting backcountry.

Part 2: Wage theft, abuse and control: How Colorado farms take advantage of migrant workers

Colorado growers routinely short-change these vulnerable workers by stealing wages or illegally charging workers outside the bounds of their visa.

Part 3: This organization has effectively eliminated agricultural worker abuse. Will Colorado farmers join the cause?

The Post outlines how the Fair Food Program, harnessing the power of consumer demand, has effectively eliminated workplace abuses in agricultural fields.

Explainer: What is the H-2A visa program?

The food that Americans sit down to eat at their dining room table has, over the decades, increasingly been picked, sorted and shipped by seasonal foreign workers.

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Originally Published: September 1, 2024 at 5:59 a.m.