Washington state apple and hops producer Cornerstone Ranches and related companies will pay $1 million to resolve claims brought by Attorney General Nick Brown alleging the farm fired local agricultural workers and replaced them with temporary foreign labor, according to a consent decree announced Tuesday.
The settlement resolves allegations that Toppenish-based Cornerstone Ranches LLC, Cornerstone Orchards LLC, and Cornerstone Farm Management Inc. unlawfully favored workers hired through the federal H-2A visa program over U.S.-based farmworkers.
Brown’s office said many of the displaced local workers were women, while many of the foreign workers hired under the H-2A program were men. The program allows agricultural employers to temporarily hire foreign workers when domestic labor is unavailable.
According to the attorney general’s office, Cornerstone violated state law by failing to offer local workers the same pay, benefits, guaranteed hours, and working conditions provided to H-2A employees. Investigators also alleged that local workers were subject to stricter productivity requirements that did not apply to foreign workers.
The $1 million settlement fund will be distributed to more than 50 U.S.-based farmworkers who lost their jobs or experienced reduced hours as a result of the alleged conduct, the attorney general’s office said.
Local workers reported that Cornerstone required them to meet productivity standards such as pruning 100 apple trees per day, while H-2A workers were not held to the same requirements, according to a press release.
“It’s a good day when you can return money to farmworkers who suffered discrimination and unfair treatment,” Brown said in a statement. He added that the settlement “will set a standard for future enforcement in similar cases.”
The consent decree was filed Monday in Yakima County Superior Court. The attorney general’s office said it is still identifying individuals eligible for compensation.
The matter was referred to Brown’s office by the Northwest Justice Project, which, along with Sunlight Law, represented a group of affected local workers.
“This consent decree and settlement send a clear message that Washington’s local farmworkers cannot be pushed aside, misled about job opportunities, or subjected to harsher standards simply because employers prefer to hire temporary foreign workers,” said David Morales, managing attorney of the Northwest Justice Project’s farmworker unit.
Under the agreement, Cornerstone is prohibited from using piece-based productivity standards in any year in which it also employs H-2A workers. The company must update its employee training practices and provide business records to the attorney general’s office during years it hires H-2A labor to ensure compliance.
The consent decree will remain in effect for three years. That period would extend to five years if Cornerstone fails to comply with its obligations.
Brown’s office sued Cornerstone in June, alleging violations of the Washington Law Against Discrimination and the Washington Consumer Protection Act.
Representatives and counsel for Cornerstone did not immediately respond Tuesday to requests for comment.
Washington is represented by Alyson Dimmitt Gnam and Alexia Diorio of the Washington Office of the Attorney General. Cornerstone is represented by Brendan Monahan and Maricarmen Perez Vargas of Stokes Lawrence PS.
The case is State of Washington v. Cornerstone Ranches LLC et al., Case No. 25-2-01914-39, in Yakima County Superior Court.
