For nearly a decade, brothers Joe and Russell Marino lived through what they described as a nightmare. They were accused by the U.S. Department of Labor of mistreating workers and fined more than half a million dollars.
Instead of a fair trial, according to AgWeb, the fourth-generation New Jersey farmers said they were dragged through a bureaucratic maze where the agency acted as investigator, prosecutor, judge, and jury.
Now, their fight has ended in a historic victory. In July 2025, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the DOL's process violated the Constitution, a decision that advocates said could alter how federal agencies handle cases nationwide.
The Marino family's farm, Sun Valley Orchards, had grown vegetables for more than 100 years, becoming one of the largest produce farms in New Jersey. In 2015, after hiring seasonal workers through the federal H-2A program, DOL inspectors accused them of violating terms related to contracts and meals. The family called these allegations baseless and rooted in paperwork errors.
Instead of corrections or warnings, the Marinos were told they owed $550,000.
"We were presumed guilty from the start," Joe Marino said. "It's shameful what they did to us."
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Without the ability to present their case before an outside jury, the Marinos spent years in what legal experts call a "kangaroo court." After exhausting all appeals within the agency, the farm was unable to survive the financial toll and was forced to close in 2021.
While the land is gone, their legal fight made waves.
The unanimous ruling ensures that small farmers and business owners can no longer be forced into in-house trials that deny them independent oversight.
"This type of agency abuse happens to so many people everywhere in the country," said Bob Belden, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, which represented the Marinos.
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No way 🙅 The court's decision sets a precedent for accountability, giving hope to others caught in similar battles. Advocates said reforms are urgently needed to ensure fair treatment in the H-2A program and beyond.
"I don't want this to ever, ever happen to another farmer or small business owner or American," Joe Marino said. "The time for change is right now."
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