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ALRB general counsel reports multiple settlements, including $114,000 payment by Bonnie Plants
Summary
General Counsel Julie Montgomery reported several pre-complaint or pre-hearing settlements resolving alleged retaliation and interference claims; settlements included payments and remedial notices, reinstatement offers, and rescission of disciplinary tickets.
At the Agricultural Labor Relations Board—s informational meeting on Jan. 8, 2025, Julie Montgomery (General Counsel) reported that staff negotiated settlements in multiple cases alleging retaliation, interference or other unfair labor practices.
The settlements reflect joint work by ALRB staff and, in some cases, other agencies. Montgomery described six items: a settlement with Cooley Enterprises Inc., pre-complaint settlements with Misonero Company and Hacienda Farm Services Inc., a Region 1 bilateral informal agreement with Bonnie Plants LLC, and a bilateral agreement with Reiter Brothers.
Montgomery said Cooley Enterprises (a tomato harvester employer in Solano County) reached a Dec. 11 settlement that provided standard noticing remedies and compensated six workers for lost wages after they walked off work during an extreme-heat incident. She reported the total back-pay payment to those workers was $2,166 and that the employer had offered reinstatement after the charge was filed.
Montgomery described pre-complaint settlements with Misonero Company and Hacienda Farm Services Inc. involving two lettuce workers in Monterey County. She said the settlements include rescission of two disciplinary tickets, standard noticing remedies advising employees they may discuss workplace issues without penalty, and a small back-pay payment to one charging party of "little under $35," as Montgomery put it.
Montgomery said Region 1 settled six charges against Bonnie Plants LLC that had been filed by nursery workers in Santa Cruz County alleging interference with protected activity, increased work volume, exclusion from instructions, denial of overtime and failure to rehire in retaliation. She said the settlement included standard notices and compensation totaling $114,000 to eight workers, including payments in lieu of reinstatement and back pay.
Montgomery also reported a settlement with Reiter Brothers in Ventura County. Two strawberry harvest workers alleged retaliation following a work stoppage; Montgomery reported bilateral pre-complaint agreements with noticing remedies and individual payments of $5,428 for one worker and $5,847 for the other (Montgomery said she had not summed those totals). Montgomery noted the Reiter Brothers charge dated to 2023.
Montgomery credited staff for settling these matters during a busy period and noted outreach activity by ALRB staff at multiple community events in December. She closed by saying staff remain available to answer questions; none were asked.
Less urgent details: Montgomery said some matters were resolved in collaboration with sister agencies (for example, OSHA) and that several settlements included reinstatement offers or payments in lieu of reinstatement.
