Jamaican workers to split $2M under settlement with resort

About 240 Jamaican workers at a luxury golf resort in South Carolina are splitting $2 million under a deal to settle a lawsuit alleging they had been cheated.

The order signed Dec. 16 by U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel applies to a pool of Jamaican guest workers who worked for Kiawah Island Golf Resort on H-2B visas.

The program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the country to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs. Several guest workers filed a class-action lawsuit last year accusing Kiawah of failing to properly pay them by deducting housing and transportation costs from their pay.

Under the agreement, housekeepers, cooks and other service workers would share $2 million. Kiawah has agreed to pay an additional $300,000 in legal fees.

Kiawah officials have denied the allegations.