The Labor Commissioner’s Office has cited farm labor contractor M.G. Luna, Inc. of Parlier and growers Madera Persimmon Growers Inc. of Madera and Willems Farms, Inc. of Kingsburg $1,926,531, for wage theft affecting 356 workers who harvested persimmons and blueberries.

The Fresno County-based farm labor contractor registered to Maria Guadalupe Luna collected wages from the growers but failed to pay the workers. The farm labor contractor also hired workers to harvest blueberries on Luna’s own farm and failed to pay them.    

“The agricultural industry has up-the-chain liability laws holding client companies responsible for unpaid wages when their contractor fails to pay their workers. In this case, the growers who contracted with M.G. Luna will pay the owed wages to workers,” said Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower.

The Labor Commissioner’s Office opened its investigation into M.G. Luna Inc. and growers Madera Persimmon Growers Inc., and Willems Farms, Inc. in September 2019 after receiving a referral from California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. The investigation focused on dozens of wage claims workers filed against the farm labor contractor and the growers for nonpayment of wages or for receiving checks with insufficient funds.

The citations and penalties issued total $1,926,531. Maria Guadalupe Luna, an individual, and Madera Persimmon Inc., a corporation, were cited $75,120 for waiting time penalties, $6,273 for minimum wage violations, and $2,230 in interest involving 25 workers. Maria Guadalupe Luna, an individual, was also cited $1,140,720 for waiting time penalties, $191,943 for minimum wage violations, and $71,325 in interest affecting 223 workers.

Maria Guadalupe Luna, an individual, and Willems Farms, Inc., a corporation, and Gayle A. Willems and Paul E. Willems, both trustees of the Willems Family Trust, were cited $334,080 for waiting time penalties, $76,272 for minimum wage violations, and $28,568 in interest involving 108 workers.

Under a California labor law enacted in 2014 to protect workers whose labor has been outsourced to a labor provider, the outsourcing entity, known as a “client employer,” is liable for the laborers’ wages if the laborers’ work is within the outsourcers’ “usual course of business.”

The California Legislature enacted Cal. Labor Code § 2810.3 to establish a new form of liability for employers, termed “client employers,” who obtain workers from third-party contractors. The legislative history of the statute indicates that client employer liability was created to address the growing business model where a business uses a contractor to supply workers who are supervised and paid by the contractor, but appear to be employees of the business. Under the statute, Cal. Labor Code § 2810.3(a)(1)-(3), (6), the outsourcing entity, known as a “client employer,” is liable for the laborers’ wages if the laborers’ work is within the outsourcers’ “usual course of business.”

The Labor Commissioner’s License and Registration search page allows growers to ensure the labor contractor they are hiring is properly licensed and registered with the Labor Commissioner’s Office as required by law.

Growers in California can find out if wage claims have been filed against a farm labor contractor by searching on the Labor Commissioner’s Wage Claim Search tool webpage. Growers should also check the search tool after work is completed, as wage claims are not always filed immediately after nonpayment of wages.