California Produce Company Fined $6M for Farmworker Wage Violations

A California produce company was fined $6.7 million for wage violations affected more than 10,000 farmworkers.

The California Labor Commissioner’s Office reached the settlement with Santa Maria-based Alco Harvesting LLC (dba Bonipak Produce Inc.) for the wage and hour violations.

The LCO found that Alco Harvesting failed to provide farmworkers with written notices of paid sick leave and COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave.

Early in the pandemic, workers who did not know about how much paid sick leave they had were effectively prevented from staying home when sick, which increased the risk of COVID-19 transmission, according to the LCO.

In some cases, farmworkers who were believed to have COVID-19 were reportedly quarantined in crowded motel rooms provided by the employer. An ensuing investigation was launched in 2020 after the office received information that a farmworker living in housing provided by the employer died from COVID-19.

Investigators also found other reported labor law violations, which included unpaid transportation time, overtime and minimum wage.

The LCO says it will distribute $4.2 million directly to affected farmworkers and $1.5 million for minimum wage violations and paid sick leave. The settlement also included non-monetary relief, which includes required postings and notices to H-2A workers about paid sick leave.

Topics
California
Agribusiness