Two Half Moon Bay mushroom farms where a disgruntled worker went on a shooting rampage in January 2023 and killed seven migrant workers has been ordered to pay $450,000 in back wages and damages to 62 workers.

A U.S. Department of Labor investigation also resulted in penalties to the farms for underpaying workers and providing unsafe housing conditions.

The recovery is part of administrative settlements reached by the department’s Wage and Hour Division with Concord Farms Inc. and California Terra Garden for multiple violations of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The investigation began shortly after the shootings.

At California Terra Garden, investigators discovered 39 workers housed in cramped cargo containers, garages and dilapidated trailers, forced to sleep on filthy mattresses and be exposed to insects and trash.

Owners Xianmin Guan and his wife, Liming Zhu, also deducted money from workers’ pay for the substandard housing illegally, the division determined.

Two miles away, division investigators discovered Concord Farms’ owner, Grace Tung, housed workers in moldy, makeshift rooms in a greenhouse infested with insects.

The division also learned Tung violated federal regulations by shortchanging workers who received their regular pay rate for all hours worked, including hours over 40 in a workweek. They were also not paid for work off-the-clock.

“The Department of Labor is determined to hold employers accountable when they ignore their legal responsibilities to provide suitable housing when required and pay workers all their legally earned wages for the hard work they do in difficult conditions.” Alberto Raymond, Wage and Hour Division assistant district director

“Our investigators found workers at California Terra Garden and Concord Farms housed in sickening conditions, forced to sleep near garbage and with insects all around,” said Wage and Hour Division assistant district director Alberto Raymond in San Francisco. “The Department of Labor is determined to hold employers accountable when they ignore their legal responsibilities to provide suitable housing when required and pay workers all their legally earned wages for the hard work they do in difficult conditions. We are committed to enforcing these workplace protections that ensure a safe and suitable living conditions for seasonal workers.”

Concord Farms agreed to pay $370,107 in overtime wages and liquidated damages to 10 workers, $4,242 in late wages to 23 workers and $29,049 in civil money penalties to address its various violations.

California Terra Gardens agreed to pay $84,074 to allow 39 workers to recoup the employers’ illegal housing deductions, and $42,494 in civil money penalties to resolve its housing, wage disclosure and recordkeeping violations.

The accused shooter, indicted in January 2024, was an employee of Terra Garden who previously worked at Concord Farms.

California Terra Garden grows mushrooms in an enclosed structure year-round. Its owners also operate Terra Garden locations in Pescadero and Ventura, Forest Mushroom Food Inc. in Pasadena and Half Moon Bay Properties LLC in Fremont.

Headquartered in Union City, Concord Farms grows and wholesales mushrooms and vegetables in Half Moon Bay and has a distribution warehouse in Vernon.