Labor Commissioner Levies Wage Theft Fines Jointly against Growers and Farm Labor Contractor
Whenever the California Labor Commissioner issues substantial fines against employers, it is wise for all of us to pause and understand the course of events that gave rise to the penalties to avoid the mistakes of others in the future. Agricultural employers might take a look at recent events in Fresno where two growers and a farm labor contractor (FLC) were substantially fined upwards of $2 million, including minimum wage violations, waiting time penalties and interest, for wage theft involving both nonpayment of wages and issuing laborers checks with insufficient funds (in other words, bounced checks).
The Labor Commissioner found that the FLC was collecting money from the growers but failed to pay the workers. In addition, the FLC itself hired workers who were never paid. California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. first took the cases in 2019, but eventually referred the dozens of wage claims to the Labor Commissioner’s office. The FLC and the growers were both ultimately penalized.
An important takeaway is that although the FLC specifically engaged in the illegal activity, the growers were jointly liable. According to the Commissioner:
- The agricultural industry has up-the-chain liability laws holding client companies responsible for unpaid wages when their contractor fails to pay their workers. In this case, the growers who contracted with [the FLC] will pay the owed wages to workers.
In issuing its decision, the Commissioner also provided some important advice to agricultural employers:
- To avoid liability as client employers, growers have an obligation to ensure that the FLCs they hire are licensed, in good standing, and paying legal wages.
So, growers listen up – you are responsible for the actions of the FLC that you hire to pay your workers. Also, issuing bounced checks to workers, even if only a few, can be detrimental to your business. The Labor Commissioner has listed some valuable resources on its website to help. The License and Registration search page allows growers to ensure the labor contractor they are hiring is properly licensed and registered with the Labor Commissioner’s Office as required by law. Growers in California can find out if wage claims have been filed against an FLC by searching on the Labor Commissioner’s Wage Claim Search tool webpage. Growers should also check the search tool after work is completed, as wage claims are not always filed immediately after nonpayment of wages.
