The California Labor Commissioner’s Office has secured a massive $6.2 million settlement against Santa Maria based Alco Harvesting LLC, doing business as Bonipak Produce Inc., and related entities, resolving widespread wage-and-hour violations that affected more than 10,000 farmworkers. The case centered on the employer’s failures during the COVID-19 pandemic, including violations involving paid sick-leave, minimum wage, overtime, and transportation time. Most of the impacted workers were H-2A agricultural workers living in employer-provided housing at the time. The state’s enforcement action followed a multi-year investigation and coordinated litigation in Santa Barbara Superior Court.
According to investigators, the employer failed to give workers legally required written notice about available paid sick-leave and COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave. Without that notice, workers could not meaningfully use those benefits and often continued working while sick because they did not know the amount of sick-leave they had available. The investigation also documented reports that some workers with suspected COVID-19 infections were quarantined in crowded motel rooms and that others were terminated after seeking medical care. Beyond sick-leave violations, the Labor Commissioner found unpaid transportation time along with minimum wage and overtime violations.
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2021, was later consolidated with related cases brought on behalf of H-2A workers and other plaintiffs, including cases supported by California Rural Legal Assistance and other worker advocate groups. Of the total settlement, $4.2 million will be distributed directly to affected workers, including about $1.5 million tied specifically to paid sick leave and minimum wage violations. The remainder covers additional wages, damages, penalties, interest, fees, and administration costs. The settlement also requires non-monetary relief, including mandatory postings, direct notices to H-2A workers about paid sick leave rights, and ongoing compliance and reporting obligations for the employer.
For applicants’ attorneys this case is a strong reminder that wage-and-hour and sick-leave violations often intersect with workplace illness, unsafe housing, and retaliation risks, all of which can surface in workers’ compensation claims. When representing injured agricultural and low-wage workers, attorneys should be alert to labor code violations, missed paid leave, and employer control over housing and transportation, as these facts can affect overall case value, credibility, and worker protection strategies.
