Five black American farmworkers are suing a Mississippi farmer, alleging he favoured white South African guest workers and paid them higher wages.
The lawsuit was filed in May in Greenville, Mississippi, against Gregory Carr, owner and manager of Carr Farms.
The workers are Michael Anthony Nash, Jimmy Shaw, Vinnie Cason, Grant Lewis and Charleston Taurvonta Harris.
They are being supported by the Mississippi Centre for Justice and Southern Migrant Legal Services.
The workers allege racial and citizenship-based discrimination, wage theft and unequal treatment while doing seasonal agricultural work between 2018 and 2026.
South African workers paid more
The case centres on Carr’s alleged use of the H-2A visa programme, which allows US farms to hire foreign agricultural workers under strict labour rules.
Court papers allege Carr misclassified black US workers as independent contractors to avoid paying them the same higher wage given to H-2A workers.
The workers claim they were paid a constant $10 an hour.
By contrast, the wages of white South African H-2A workers reportedly increased each year because they were linked to the Mississippi Adverse Effect Wage Rate.
The lawsuit alleges Carr intentionally sought out white South African workers, gave them better job opportunities and paid them higher rates.
Legal protections questioned
Under the H-2A programme, US workers doing the same or similar work as foreign workers must receive the same protections and pay.
Employers must also show that there are not enough able, willing and qualified US workers before hiring foreign workers.
The lawsuit claims Carr used different corporate entities to avoid labour obligations.
The workers are seeking compensatory and punitive damages for unpaid wages, breach of contract and emotional distress linked to alleged unequal treatment.
Safety concerns also raised
The lawsuit also highlights dangerous working conditions on Carr’s farms.
The workers allege there was a lack of proper safety equipment for hazardous work inside grain silos.
The report also refers to previous deaths involving young South African farmworkers in Mississippi.
Eugene Nicholas, 20, died in 2022 after falling into a soya bean silo at Bare Bones Farms.
In 2023, another South African, Nantes Lennox from Springbok in the Northern Cape, died after suffocating in a grain bin.
US labour investigators found safety violations at Bare Bones Farms.
The case adds to growing scrutiny of how foreign farmworkers, including South Africans, are used in parts of the US agricultural sector.