Mauritson Farms in Healdsburg to pay over $328,000 in lost wages to settle retaliation complaint

A Sonoma County farm has reached a settlement with nearly two dozen former employees who accused the business of retaliating against them after they spoke out about unfavorable working conditions.

According to the agreement, which was reached last month and made public on Monday, Healdsburg-based Mauritson Farms** agreed to pay $328,077 in lost wages to 21 farmworkers, the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board said.

Cam Mauritson, the farm’s general manager, in a statement responding to Monday’s announcement, denied any alleged violations of state labor regulations and called the settlement a “business decision.”

“Mauritson Farms, Inc. strongly believes that we were not in any violation of the Agricultural Labor Relations Act. This settlement is strictly a business decision that allows us to resolve this issue without the need for further litigation,” Mauritson said. “We look forward to focusing on the needs of our business, its employees, and the growing season.”

The workers were part of the H-2A program, which allows foreign nationals to work in the U.S. temporarily with a visa.

Mauritson hired and then retained the H-2A agricultural workers throughout the 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons.

In 2021, however, several workers sought assistance and support from the Santa Rosa-based nonprofit North Bay Jobs with Justice, a grassroots coalition of over 30 community and labor organizations.

The nonprofit helped the workers communicate complaints to Mauritson Farms about dirty restrooms, denials of meal and rest breaks and mistreatment.

In the 2022 season, though, Mauritson Farms did not rehire the workers. The company opted, instead, for a different cohort of H-2A workers, according to the Agricultural Labor Relations Board.

North Bay Jobs with Justice then filed a complaint with the state agency, which enforces collective bargaining rights and protects agricultural employees under California’s Agricultural Labor Relations Act.

The Agricultural Labor Relations Board’s subsequent investigation resulted in a complaint against Mauritson Farms, which resulted in the settlement agreement reached on June 28.

“This is a big victory for workers and really shows the power that workers have built up in the past two years of organizing, ” Davida Sotelo Escobedo, communications and research coordinator with North Bay Jobs with Justice, said Monday. “Workers are pushing back against the abuses of the bosses — and winning.”

As part of the agreement, agents with the Agricultural Labor Relations Board will visit Mauritson Farms’ work sites to read a notice to farmworkers about their rights.

That notice will be posted for 75 days and also mailed to current and former employees, according to the agency.

**Editor’s Note: This article was updated to correct an earlier version that misstated the business dealings of Mauritson Farms.

You can reach Staff Writer Jennifer Sawhney at 707-521-5346 or jennifer.sawhney@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @sawhney_media.