Strawberry Picker Claims Employer Refused Proper Rest Breaks

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Azcona Harvesting, LLC is facing a proposed class action filed by a former strawberry picker who claims she was not provided with proper rest breaks. The plaintiff says she worked seasonally for the defendant and was usually paid a combination of piece rate wages and hourly wages for her work. She alleges, however, that the defendant owes her unpaid wages for failing to provide her with “duty free” rest periods. According to the suit, the plaintiff and similarly situated employees were entitled to 30-minute rest breaks but were required to travel to and from the break area and wash their hands before returning to work. Added up, the plaintiff alleges, this amounted to about five to 10 minutes per break, meaning employees were only given 20- to 25-minute “duty free” rest periods. From the complaint:

“Prior to May 1, 2017, for each day that [the plaintiff’s] daily wages was a combination of piece rate wages and hourly wages, the piece rate portion of her wages did not compensate [the plaintiff] at all for any of her rest period time, and the hourly portion of her wages was not high enough to meet minimum wage requirements.”

Because the defendant allegedly robbed her of her rest periods, the plaintiff says she was also robbed of proper wages and accurate wage statements that detailed the true length of her breaks.