A judge has ordered a contractor with ties to a polygamous group on the Utah-Arizona border to pay more than $1 million in back wages to children who prosecutors say were forced to pick pecans from 2008-2013.
U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell ruled Tuesday based on the Department of Labor's determination that 104 workers were eligible for back pay from Paragon Contractors, who demonstrated a "clear pattern of oppressive child labor" that violated a 2007 agreement to stop the practice. The ruling is the latest development in a long-running case
Labor officials say the majority worked of the children worked an average of six days a week and about three months each year.