Civil rights lawsuit filed against Sunnyside mushroom producer
By Terry Murry on Friday, August 19th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
OLYMPIA – Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has filed a civil rights lawsuit against Ostrom Mushroom Farms in Sunnyside for discriminating against its workers based on gender, citizenship, and immigration status.
From January 2021 to May 2022, the company fired 140 of its U.S.-based mushroom pickers, most of them women. During the same time, the company hired 65 temporary, foreign agricultural workers with all but two of them being men.
In addition to firing most of its female workers, Ostrom posted a job advertisement on Facebook seeking “only males” to work at the farm. Ferguson said evidence uncovered by his office clearly shows that Ostrom discriminated against female farm workers and Washington residents so that it could hire mostly foreign workers who have fewer rights. He called Ostrom’s conduct is disturbing and unlawful.
