Farms’ lawsuit against California labor regulators revived

A lawsuit filed by two farms against California labor regulators has been revived by a federal appeals court, which ruled it’s plausible the companies were unfairly targeted.  The dispute relates to law passed by California lawmakers in 2015 that provided some — but not all — farms with safe harbor against certain labor lawsuits. Farms in the state were facing possible class action litigation after court rulings that piece-rate workers, such as those paid based on harvest amounts, must be paid the minimum wage even for breaks, meals and other “non-productive” periods. Before those rulings, farmers simply ensured that the total amount paid to piece-rate workers for a period of time exceeded the amount they’d be paid by the minimum wage. In response, California lawmakers passed Assembly Bill 1513, which shields growers from liability as long as they correct “minimum wage deficiencies” that occurred between mid-2012 and the end of 2015.