IRVINE, CA - The Western Growers Association (WGA) and the California Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA) have announced that they will file a joint friend-of-the-court brief to support a new lawsuit that challenges provisions of a law designed to provide employers who make back payment to piece-rate employees “safe harbor” from class action lawsuits.
Expressly requested by the United Farm Workers union (UFW), the provisions in question specifically exclude at least two farm companies targeted by the United Farm Workers (UFW) union on unrelated matters from AB 1513’s “safe harbor,” according to a press release. The two associations both assure that the provisions were specifically added to the legislation as the price of UFW’s acquiescence to the legislation (AB 1513, 2015).
“It is unseemly and shameful that the Legislature allowed the UFW to demand provisions that carve out two farm employers from a law that was otherwise thoughtfully crafted to get money to thousands of farm workers quickly and without subjecting employers to predatory class action lawsuits,” said Tom Nassif, President and CEO of WGA in a statement.
Nassif went on to explain that WGA is proud to take this action to help persuade the court to right this wrong, and extend AB 1513’s benefits to the thousands of farmworkers excluded by the UFW.
“While there rightfully remains indignation in regard to the way the carve out sections were negotiated, everyone should know that this legal action is specifically directed to only these unfair and unjust provisions that specifically target two employers and the ludicrous accusation of somehow being ‘bad actors,’” added CFFA President Barry Bedwell. “In fact and in practice, these employers are exemplary in their relationships and interactions with employees and they and their workers deserve the same opportunities this legislation affords to others.”
Bedwell also stated on behalf of the association that CFFA is pleased to do what it can to see that the action happens.
As explained in the associations’ joint statement, Assembly Bill 1513 was the product of lengthy negotiations between the California’s Brown Administration, labor unions, and individual agricultural employers. The legislation gained notoriety during the aftermath of two state appellate court decisions in 2013 that changed compensation practices for “non-productive time and rest and recovery periods” taken by employees compensated on a piece-rate basis. Under the prior state labor laws, those employers faced as much as four years of retroactive exposure to immense damages, penalties, and legal costs for practices that even state labor agency regulators deemed proper for decades before.
After all negotiations concluded and AB 1513 was presented to state legislature, in August 2015, the UFW pushed for amendments targeting companies Fowler Packing and Gerawan Farming, two employers that had previously been targeted by the UFW for unrelated issues.
The lawsuit challenging the UFW amendments will be filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation on behalf of its clients, Fowler Packing and Gerawan Farms.
California Fresh Fruit Association Western Growers Association
