They are waiting for a check in the mail. The offer came from a job contractor, and although the men worked six 12-hour days, they were never paid, according to a lawsuit settled last October in U.S. District Court. Many of the thousands of Hispanics who stream into the state every year don't work directly for the farmers or managers who appear to be their employers. Many work for a job contractor who arranges their job and keeps part of their pay. The contractors pick up workers in the morning and take them to a job.
Some contractors provide lunch for their workers.
Some, called crew leaders, work beside them. There are about 100 job contractors in Central Kentucky, said Lexington Hispanic Association President Ben Figueras. Some are Hispanic, he said, but an increasing number are not. Some exploit workers they claim to help. Two Central Kentucky job contractors were recently told by the Kentucky Migrant Legal Services Project that they will be sued if they don't pay what they owe workers, project attorney Ira D. Newman said.