Farmworkers file lawsuit over pay against Driscoll’s Inc. and others in Ventura Superior Court

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – A lawsuit was filed Monday in Ventura County Superior Court by 17 farmworkers alleging that they were not fully paid for picking strawberries during the 2022 harvest.

Seventh Tree Farm, a farm labor contractor based in Oxnard, hired the workers to pick Driscoll's Inc. strawberries and promised to pay $2.10 for each box of strawberries, but the complaint alleges that the employers systematically undercounted the boxes resulting in wage theft.

Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that Seventh Tree Farm required workers to work overtime on weekends without compensating them at overtime premiums required by law and that workers were paid below minimum wage for the hours they harvested.

Driscoll's, Inc. is named as a joint and client employer in the complaint that also alleges complaints against four individuals involved in the alleged violations.

Driscoll's, Inc. is a fourth-generation family-owned business headquartered in Watsonville, California. In 2017, the company controlled approximately a third of the nation's berry market including sixty percent of the organic strawberry market.

The workers in this case are represented by California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA) and Legal Aid at Work.

CRLA is a non-profit law firm that provides free civil legal services to residents of rural communities in California.

Legal Aid at Work is a San Francisco-based non-profit legal services organization focused on workers' rights.

A press conference from the plaintiffs is scheduled for Apr. 19 at 4 p.m. outside of the Ventura County Superior Court.