Plaintiff employee Julio Mayen filed suit Wednesday in the Eastern District of California against Torres Farm Labor Contractor, Inc (TFLC) on behalf of himself and the class of individuals similarly situated to him. Mayen alleged a slew of employment violations against himself and the proposed class.
Mayen was previously employed by the defendant as a seasonal agricultural worker. He claims that he was not paid the proper overtime by the defendant, did not receive mandated wage statements, did not receive his final paycheck within official time limits, did not receive adequate rest or meal breaks, and lastly was not reimbursed for expenses incurred when executing the duties that accompanied his job.
The defendant, TFLC, is engaged in the business of “providing agricultural workers/agricultural employees who work on land located primarily in Kern County, California to various employers.” Seasonally, they employ thousands of agricultural workers, all of whom work in harvesting, field packing, and packaging. The class in the suit refers to those who were employed by the defendant within the same designated time frame as Mayen as seasonal agricultural workers.
Under the terms set by the defendant, the individuals they provide work for will be paid “an hourly rate for certain services performed,” as well as overtime pay, sufficient breaks, reimbursement for reasonably incurred expenses, and more. These terms are further substantiated as they are required by California law. Any week wherein a worker logs an excess of 40 hours requires corresponding overtime pay. Mayen contends that the defendant did not provide overtime pay, nor did they provide adequate meal or rest breaks as they were required to by California law and under their own guidelines.
Despite the plaintiff and the class either quitting their employment or being terminated, the defendant still “failed to pay them all wages owed to them at the time they quit or are laid off or discharged.”
The variety of alleged offenses committed by the defendant include failure to pay overtime, failure to pay minimum wage, failure to provide itemized wage statements, failure to pay wages upon termination and/or resignation, rest break violations, failure to pay for meal periods not provided, failure to reimburse for expenses reasonably incurred, violations of the agricultural worker protection act, and lastly unfair competition.
Mayen is seeking class certification, actual, compensatory, liquidated, and general damages, restitution, disgorgement, injunctive relief in multiple forms, litigation fees, and other relief. Mayen is represented by Lipeles Law Group.
