Farm Workers Wage Settlement Stands to Be Largest In Wash. History

A Washington federal judge has been asked to approve a farm workers wage settlement to resolve a class action between fruit pickers and an orchard company.

A group of fruit pickers-turned-plaintiffs recently asked a federal judge for approval of a $2.5 million farm workers wage settlement. Should the settlement gain approval, it may be the largest farm workers wage settlement in Washington state history.

The plaintiffs filed the class action against Auvil Fruit Co. in October 2016, claiming that the orchard company failed to provide rest breaks, didn’t maintain accurate time records and hid what rates they would pay until after work started. Although the company has agreed to the settlement and its terms, Auvil Fruit has denied any allegations of wrongdoing.

In addition to the $2.5 million farm workers wage settlement fund, Auvil agreed to multiple wage and hour stipulations to protect workers in the future. The company will pay 4.5 percent  of all piece-rate earnings moving forward to account for nonproductive work time, change its timekeeping policies, and provide wage and hour training for supervisors.

Changes such as the 4.5 percent nonproductive work time will protect workers until the practice is established by law. The new timekeeping policy will allow workers to note their own start and end times and will not round half hour intervals as the previous policy had.

After fees, awards, and expenses are accounted for, the farm workers wage settlement fund will be split between two sets of claims. Forty percent of the fund will cover claims related to meal and rest breaks, and the other 60 percent will cover claims related to the minimum wage law and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.

The amount paid for each claim will be calculated based on the hours worked by each claimant in relation to the total hours worked by the Class. The workers said that, for a 100 percent claim rate, the average award will be $433.

In addition to the monetary rewards and Auvil policy changes, the proposed farm workers wage settlement also called for “an extremely robust, multi-faceted notice program” to account for migrant Class Members who are difficult to reach and those Class Members who do not read English.

Notices will be distributed in physical form via mail and in electronic form via the settlement websites, in both English and Spanish. Additionally, the workers asked the judge to expedite the settlement approval process so that class members could receive notices before the cherry harvest begins in June.

In their settlement proposal, the workers have also requested approval for $625,000 in attorneys’ fees and $10,000 incentive awards for the two names plaintiffs in the suit.

The farm workers wage settlement will not be finalized until the federal judge gives his approval, but the settlement stands to be a bright light for seasonal and migrant farm workers.

The Farm Workers Lawsuit is Case No. 2:16-cv-00356, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.

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