Al Gore-backed Bloom Energy grossly underpaid and illegally employed Mexican immigrant labor for 'green' jobs and paid them in pesos

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2/4/13, "Sunnyvale Green Energy Firm Fined For Underpaying Workers From Mexico," sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com

"Bloom Energy Corp. has been ordered by a U.S. District Court Judge to pay $31,922 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to employees from Mexico after the company was found to have willfully violated the minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
 
Bloom, a manufacturer of solid oxide fuel cells, has been paying 14 workers brought to the United States from Chihuahua, Mexico less than $3 per hour for refurbishing work performed at the company headquarters in Sunnyvale.

The Department of Labor told KPIX 5 that the employees were skilled workers and they were in the United States on visitors’ visas, which does not allow them to work.

According to a press release from the Labor Department, Bloom Energy brought the workers in from Mexico to refurbish power generators alongside U.S. workers. Federal investigators found that the workers were paid in Mexican pesos the equivalent of $2.66 per hour. The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked. California minimum wage is $8 per hour.

“It is appalling that this was happening right in the heart of Silicon Valley, one of the wealthiest per capita areas in the U.S.,” said Ruben Rosalez, regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division in the West.

The Department of Labor has requested that Bloom not ship the goods produced in violation until the violations were resolved, according to the press release. Bloom has paid the back wages and has agreed to comply in the future with all FLSA requirements.

As of Monday evening, Bloom energy has not responded to KPIX 5′s request for comment." via Drudge
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Al Gore firm Kleiner Perkins invested in Bloom Energy:

6/8/2012, "Bloom Adds Another $150M in VC to Its Fuel Cell Coffers," greentechmedia.com, E. Wesoff

"Bloom Energy, Kleiner Perkins' first cleantech investment, has raised another $150 million, according to VentureWire, as reported in the WSJ. 

Bloom, founded eleven years ago, builds and sells fuel cells of the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) variety. The devices run on natural gas and produce electricity with fewer emissions than a diesel gen-set.

This Round G brings the VC total for Bloom to approximately $800M on a reported valuation of $2.7 billion, a figure which brings it near the 'Solyndra line' of VC totals. At a certain point, the necessity of having to raise more VC becomes looks more like a liability and an indication that something is wrong with a business model.

Previous investors in Bloom have included Advanced Equities, Apex Venture Partners, DAG Ventures, GSV Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Mobius Venture Capital, Madrone Capital, New Enterprise Associates, SunBridge Partners, and Goldman Sachs....

There is still not a single, pure-play, public fuel cell company that has experienced anything close to profitability. It's difficult to believe that Bloom is anywhere close to being profitable despite the plundering of the Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) they enjoyed....

"So far, Bloom has been able to ship its product into subsidy-rich regions. The big question is if Bloom can survive when those subsidies recede."...via Junk Science 

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