California vintners grapple with new state law on worker payments

Vintners are still grappling with a new state law that mandates additional pay provisions if they compensate employees by how much they pick rather than through a straight hourly wage.

The law, sponsored by Assemblyman Das Williams, D-Carpinteria, was the result of a compromise after recent court rulings against employers, some of which carried major monetary penalties. It went into effect on Jan. 1.

Two recent cases found such piece-rate compensation pays solely for productive time, but breaks and other so-called unproductive time - such as training and waiting times - had to be separately compensated.

The law created a procedure to reimburse workers an estimated $200 million for rest and meal periods they had not previously been compensated for, from July 1, 2012 through Dec. 31, 2015.

“It was intended to stop the lawsuits,” said Erica Rosasco, a Sacramento lawyer who has worked on such cases.

The legislation created a legal “safe harbor” for employers who were in violation of the law, provided they make repayments.

It also clarified how employers are supposed to pay workers going forward for rest and recovery periods and other unproductive time, though there was still much confusion over the law during a session Wednesday at a conference sponsored by the California Farm Labor Contractors Association. The event was held at Santa Rosa's Flamingo Conference Resort and Spa.

“People are still paying piece rate. Some of them are rethinking if they want to continue doing it. Some people may only do it during harvest. Certain people are willing to do it all year round,” said Peter Nissen, owner of Nissen Vineyard Services Inc. in St. Helena and board member of the association. “The whole idea of how people are going to treat it depends on how much scrutiny they want to be under.”

Some workers also are wary of going to an hourly pay scale over fears that could they make more on a piece-rate basis, said Guadalupe Sandoval, managing director of the association.

“There's a lot of resistance from workers doing piece rate,” he said.

Armando Elenes, national president of the United Farm Workers of America, said the piece-rate system can pose problems if a worker forgets to take a break, or if precautions aren't taken for safety reasons, such as heat exposure. “It can blind you,” Elenes said. “You are pursuing that mighty dollar.”

Employers have until July 1 to apply for the safe harbor with the Department of Industrial Relations. Back payments must be paid by Dec. 15.

Many North Coast land owners contract work on their fields out to vineyard management companies. But given the extent of liability involved in the issue, Rosasco said that “lots of growers are contributing (money) to the safe harbor.”