Crawfish Workers File Suit Over Wages

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal lawsuit claims federal regulators are using an illegally adopted rule and unreliable research in allowing Louisiana crawfish processors to hire foreign workers at “depressed and stagnated wages." It says those suppressed wages also hold down pay for U.S. citizens employed by crawfish processors. Four U.S. citizens and one foreign worker are plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed Wednesday in Washington. The suit asks the court to strike down the wage rule or halt the use of what the plaintiffs believe is a faulty study to set the wages. Although it's focused on Louisiana, the lawsuit says the rule affects seafood workers in multiple states.