Washington labor regulators are coming down hard on Moxee-based Superbee Contracting LLC, slapping the farm labor contractor with $692,750 in penalties after finding widespread failures to inform and protect workers. The Washington Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) says the citation covers work on 15 farms across Benton, Franklin, Yakima and Walla Walla counties and at one site in Hermiston, Oregon, affecting nearly 1,200 farmworkers. The agency has suspended Superbee’s farm labor contracting license and given the company 30 days to appeal while it moves ahead with enforcement.
As reported by KIRO, L&I issued the citation on June 16, 2026, alleging six violations that occurred during the 2023 and 2024 growing seasons. The agency says many of the affected workers were non-English speakers and that missing or misleading written disclosures left them particularly vulnerable. L&I’s action followed worker complaints and a licensing review that flagged discrepancies in Superbee’s filings.
What investigators found
According to L&I’s findings, Superbee failed to provide required written information about work location, job duties, housing, transportation and pay to 702 workers, and gave incomplete details to another 487. Investigators say the company also could not produce pay statements for nearly 1,200 employees. The agency found that Superbee falsely stated on its license application that it did not transport workers, yet operated worker transports without liability insurance and hired at least one unlicensed contractor. Together, those violations amount to $692,750 in civil penalties, according to Insurance Journal.
Linked federal case
The state citation is unfolding alongside a related federal prosecution. Superbee’s controller and business agent, Giovanna Sierra Carrillo, pleaded guilty on April 20 to two counts of foreign labor contracting fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft and is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 24, 2026, in U.S. District Court in Richland, according to Capital Press. Federal prosecutors allege Carrillo falsified H-2A paperwork and manipulated foreign labor placements while working for another contractor. Her federal admissions and the state’s L&I findings share a common thread of paperwork and transportation abuses in the farm labor pipeline.
Harvest Plus background
The U.S. Department of Labor previously debarred Kennewick-based Harvest Plus LLC from the H-2A program in October 2024 after finding unsafe housing, unlawful deductions and unsafe transportation, and assessed roughly $252,475 in penalties, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Washington L&I says Superbee had extensive ties to Harvest Plus, a connection that factored into the state’s licensing and enforcement review, as reported by KIRO. Taken together, the federal and state actions highlight growing scrutiny of the labor-sourcing network that supplies seasonal and H-2A workers to regional growers.
What growers and workers should know
Farmers who rely on outside labor contractors are required under Washington law to make sure those contractors are licensed and that workers receive disclosure statements, pay statements and safe transportation, according to Washington L&I. The penalties against Superbee, along with the federal prosecutions tied to Harvest Plus, underline the risk growers take when they depend on contractors who sidestep disclosure and safety rules. L&I says it believes Superbee is no longer in business, and the citation could complicate labor sourcing for farms that previously worked with the contractor.
Legal outlook
Carrillo’s plea carries potential federal prison terms and fines under statutes covering fraud and aggravated identity theft. Press coverage of court filings notes that identity theft counts can carry up to two years and fraud counts up to five years, although the judge will decide the final penalties at sentencing. The state civil citation is separate from the federal criminal case. L&I’s remedies are monetary and administrative, while federal prosecutors are pursuing criminal accountability. Together, the parallel state and federal actions could drive closer vetting of farm labor contractors and tougher enforcement of disclosure, transportation and pay rules across the region.
