DETROIT (AP) — A jury has awarded more than $500,000 to five men from Guatemala who said they were exploited and underpaid by a labor contractor that brought them to Michigan to plant and harvest fruit and vegetables.
Much of the verdict last week — $450,000 — was in the form of punitive damages against Purpose Point Harvesting for violating an antitrafficking law.
Interpreters translated Spanish to English as the five men testified in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids. They recalled three seasons as laborers who handled asparagus, apples, cherries and other crops in Oceana and Newaygo counties, from 2017-19…