Manuel De Jesus Altamirano-Santiago, Lucio Mendoza-Castro, Fredi Saul Canseco-Vasquez, Juan Perez, a pseudonym, Salvario Lopez, a pseudonym, Pedro Pancho, a pseudonym, Carlos Rancho, a pseudonym, and others similarly situated v. Better Produce Inc., Rancho Del Mar Inc., C.J.J. Farming Inc., Juan Cisneros
Published: May 14, 2021 | Result Date: Apr. 20, 2021 | Filing Date: May 6, 2019 |Case number: 2:19-cv-03964-DDP-AFM Settlement – $3,500,000
Judge
Court
CD CA
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Dawson M. Morton
(Law Offices of Santos Gomez)
Santos V. Gomez
(Law Offices of Santos Gomez)
Defendant
Vincent T. Martinez
(Twitchell & Rice LLP)
Todd C. Hunt
(Law Office of Todd C. Hunt, APC)
Facts
Plaintiffs are farmworkers employed by defendants Better Produce Inc., Rancho Del Mar Inc., C.J.J. Farming Inc., and Juan Cisneros in the harvest of strawberries and other crops. Plaintiffs filed this wage and hour lawsuit against defendants.
Contentions
PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS: The plaintiffs contended that defendants violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and California wage laws by not paying them minimum wage and by not compensating workers separately for a seventh consecutive day. Plaintiffs also alleged meal and rest period violations.
DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS: Defendants denied the contentions.
Settlement Discussions
In light of some plaintiffs' withdrawal from the suit, plaintiffs requested incentive awards of $24,000 for each of the three named plaintiffs who did not want to stop the action.
Result
The parties settled the case for $3,500,000. Rancho del Mar agreed to rehire the workers, institute electronic time keeping for the 2021 season, and provide proper breaks.
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