Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE) is a non-profit regional law firm that provides high quality legal assistance in civil matters to help eligible low-income individuals and groups in western Ohio achieve self reliance, and equal justice and economic opportunity.
ABLE Seeks Justice for Migrant Farmworkers Facing Unsafe Housing and Unlawful Wages
Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE) has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of two migrant farmworkers, brothers Hector and Mario Rocha, who were subjected to unsafe, unsanitary housing and unlawful wage practices while working at Rock Dove Farm in central Ohio.
The complaint, filed November 7, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, names farm owner and operator Todd Schriver, doing business as Rock Dove Farm, as the defendant. The lawsuit brings claims under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (AWPA), 29 U.S.C. § 1801 et seq., as well as breach-of-contract claims.
The Rocha brothers, both U.S. citizens who travel across states to harvest crops, were recruited to work at Rock Dove Farm for the 2023, 2024, and 2025 growing seasons under promises of safe, well-equipped housing, and fair wages. Instead, Mr. Schriver housed the brothers first in a small camper and then in an on-site house that lacked basic necessities and exposed them to serious health and safety risks.
The housing provided had no running water, bathroom, or functioning toilet, and there were holes in the walls and ceilings, rodent droppings, and infestations of bats and rats. The brothers were forced to purchase buckets for toilets and to dispose of waste in nearby woods, and to buy their own hose, work gloves, hats, knives, and other basic work equipment required to do their jobs.
Rock Dove Farm also failed to comply with federal and state health and safety standards for migrant housing: no posted certifications, no safe kitchen or laundry facilities, no proper drainage or sewage system, and no hot or cold running water. A poison ivy infestation across the property led to repeated medical visits for severe rashes. Hector Rocha suffered a fractured toe in a tractor incident and continues to experience pain.
Despite the dangerous conditions and irregular pay, the brothers continued to return each year because they continued to receive assurances that housing and wages would improve, including promises of raises, bonuses, and a truck, all promises that were never kept. They were repeatedly paid late or underpaid, and in recent seasons were not placed on payroll or provided with regular paystubs.
ABLE Staff Attorney Gwendolyn Short serves as lead counsel for the Rocha brothers.
“We are proud to be representing the Rocha brothers in their claims against Rock Dove Farm,” Short said. “These brothers traveled to Ohio on the promise of work and well-equipped housing. Instead, they were provided with uninhabitable housing, holes in ceilings and walls, rodent and bat infestations, no bathroom or toilet, among other issues. Even though Rock Dove Farm’s owner, Todd Schriver, commended the brothers for their work ethic and quality of work, he would often pay them late or underpay them. The brothers returned for future seasons, believing promises of better housing and raises would be fulfilled, but those promises proved empty. Farmworkers—humans—deserve respect and dignity, but the Rochas were not given either; they were not even given a second thought. We hope this case, either through litigation or negotiation, will lead to justice for our clients and protection for other farm workers.”
Why ABLE Pursues Cases Like This
Agricultural workers sustain Ohio’s food supply yet often experience dangerous conditions, wage theft, and barriers that keep them from speaking up. ABLE provides free civil legal services to protect the rights of workers whose labor benefits our communities. This case continues ABLE’s longstanding commitment to ensuring fair wages, safe housing, and workplace justice for farmworkers across the region.
In this lawsuit, ABLE seeks to recover statutory and actual damages under the AWPA, as well as damages for breach-of-contract. Just as critically, ABLE is asking the court to require Rock Dove Farm to provide safe, sanitary housing that meets federal standards before housing any additional farmworkers and to comply fully with wage laws moving forward. By holding this employer accountable, ABLE aims to prevent future workers from being subjected to the same inhumane conditions and to reinforce the rights, dignity, and safety that all agricultural workers are owed.
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About Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE)
Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE) is a nonprofit law firm that pursues justice and equity, facilitates access to opportunities for people with low incomes through passionate legal representation, and provides steadfast advocacy for systemic reform. ABLE’s Farmworker and Immigrant Rights work focuses on protecting the rights, safety, and dignity of agricultural workers and their families. For more information, please contact ABLE Communications Specialist Emily Desmond at edesmond@ablelaw.org. Learn more at: https://www.ablelaw.org.