People coming from (e.g.) Peru on H-2A visas were treated poorly in the 1980's and the 1990's. Legislation was passed in 2001, which lead to some increases in l

People coming from (e.g.) Peru on H-2A visas were treated poorly in the 1980's and the 1990's. Legislation was passed in 2001, which lead to some increases in living conditions, and pay, but it's not really enforced by the Dept. of Labour, so some ranches still have workers living in the same conditions as in the 1980's and 1990's. Specific points: * The company he worked for didn't want to pay him worker's comp. when he contracted Valley Fever, which is a direct result of his job / working conditions. * They also wanted to just pay him a lump sum of $2k, and send him home rather than continue to pay his medical bills. They failed to mention to him that doctors in Peru don't know how to deal with Valley Fever since it's really something limited to the US. He only found this out from other Peruvians that he got in contact with. * Companies liked to sign people up for H-2A visas as "sheepherders," but then have them do different jobs once they were here (and conveniently pocket the difference in pay between the jobs). * The people living as sheepherders were basically modern-day "slaves." They were paid $750/month (flat fee) for a job that basically required their every waking hour (and or more) to complete. They were isolated from anyone except for their boss. Their boss would flip out and grill them if there were so much as "unknown" tire tracks in the vicinity. They weren't even allow to have a magazine let alone a radio or television, because apparently that would mean that they were slacking off and not working.