Back wage measure for farm workers challenged

A law that would have settled disputes between growers and farmworkers over lost wages could come unraveled, after two fruit growers persuaded a federal court to review whether it is constitutional. Gerawan Farming Inc. and Fowler Packing Co. contend that state legislators deliberately crafted provisions in Assembly Bill 1513, signed last year by Gov. Brown, to exclude them from protections afforded to companies that agree to compensate “piece work” laborers for their time spent on breaks, training, and other nonproductive activities. Those provisions denied the growers their constitutional right to equal protection under the law, they argued.A U.S. District Court rejected that claim, but on Friday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals asked the court to reconsider. The move is unlikely to change much for growers who may have opted to repay workers by a Thursday deadline. The author of the bill, former Assemblyman Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara), touted the legislation as a grand bargain that would shield growers from penalties and lawsuits and compensate workers who had struggled for years to recoup payment for time not spent picking and packing.