Mississippi
Mississippi farms pay $850,000 in back wages and fines
Forty-four farms in Mississippi exploited local Black workers by paying higher wages to immigrants who were in the United States on temporary work visas, the U.S. Labor Department said Wednesday.
The department announced it completed investigations that it began last year in the rural flatlands of the Mississippi Delta, one of the poorest areas of the U.S.
The 44 farms include catfish growers and operations that raise crops such as rice, soybeans and corn. They have paid $505,540 in back wages for 161 workers, plus $341,838 in civil penalties, the department said.
“The outcome of these investigations confirms that employers in the Mississippi Delta denied a large number of marginalized farmworkers their lawful wages, and in some cases, violated the rights of U.S. workers by giving temporary guest workers preferential treatment,” said Audrey Hall, district director of the Wage and Hour Division in Jackson, Mississippi.
The Labor Department announced its findings six months after two agriculture businesses in the Delta settled lawsuits filed on behalf of local Black farmworkers over claims that farms hired white laborers from South Africa and paid them more than the local Black employees for the same type of work.
The Labor Department said Wednesday that its investigations found employers violated several requirements of the H-2A visa program, including by failing to pay the required wages to U.S. workers in jobs similar to those held by immigrants.
The department also said the farms did not disclose all conditions of employment, failed to provide accurate anticipated hours of work and bonus opportunities, made illegal pay deductions, failed to provide required reimbursements for travel expenses and failed to comply with recordkeeping requirements.
Mississippi Center for Justice filed one of the lawsuits that was settled last year. The center collaborated with the Labor Department to protect the exploited workers, said Juan Coria, department’s Atlanta-based regional administrator.
Hall praised local Black farmworkers for speaking out about the problems.
“The courage they showed has helped workers across the Delta finally receive their long overdue wages,” Hall said.
VIDEO: Students practice earthquake drill for Great Oregon ShakeOut
Spencer Butte Middle School students participate in the Great Oregon ShakeOut, learning about earthquakes and what to do if one occurs.
A 2.5 magnitude earthquake struck near the Ross Barnett Reservoir on Thanksgiving Day, the United States Geological Survey confirmed.
The minor-earthquake struck around 12 kilometers southeast of Canton at a depth of 5 kilometers. It happened around 7:48 a.m. No damage was reported.
The quake was recorded on the north side of the of the reservoir near where Highway 43 crosses the lake and south of the Natchez Trace Parkway.
Earthquakes have occurred in the region before.
“Until 2014, when the dramatic increase in earthquake rates gave Oklahoma the number one ranking in the conterminous U.S., the most seismically active area east of the Rocky Mountains was in the Mississippi Valley area known as the New Madrid seismic zone,” according to the USGS website.
In the winter of 1811 and 1812, according to the USGS, the New Madrid seismic zone “generated a sequence of earthquakes that lasted for several months and included three very large earthquakes estimated to be between magnitude 7 and 8. The three largest 1811-1812 earthquakes destroyed several settlements along the Mississippi River, caused minor structural damage as far away as Cincinnati, Ohio, and St. Louis, Missouri, and were felt as far away as Hartford, Connecticut, Charleston, South Carolina, and New Orleans, Louisiana.”
A 2.6 magnitude earthquake also struck in Oklahoma on Thanksgiving Day.
MADISON COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – A minor earthquake was recorded in Mississippi early Thanksgiving morning.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the 2.5-magnitude earthquake occurred southeast of Canton near the Ross Barnett Reservoir around 1:48 a.m. on Thursday, November 28.
Officials with the Michigan Technological University said earthquakes below 2.5-magnitude are “generally not felt.” So far, there are no reports of any damage in Madison County.
The last earthquake that occurred in Madison County was a 2.8-magnitude earthquake in 2019.
Mississippi
Thanksgiving on Mississippi Public Broadcasting Think Radio, set to air on Thursday, November 28th
MISSISSIPPI (KTVE/KARD) — For Thanksgiving, on Thursday, November 28, 2024, the Mississippi Public Broadcasting Radio will air a special programming.
Photo courtesy of Mississippi Public Broadcasting
According to officials, “Turkey Confidential” and “Feasting with the Great American Songbook: An Afterglow Thanksgiving Special” will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Francis Lam will be taking calls and help those in need of Thanksgiving cooking tips for the biggest cooking day of the year.
According to officals, “Feasting with the Great American Songbook: An Afterglow Thanksgiving Special” will explore classic jazz and popular songs about food by singers like Louis Armstrong, Louis Jordan, and Fats Waller, perfect for listening while sitting at the table.
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