The United Farm Workers union, which represents nearly 10,000 workers, has proposed to pay $1.3 million in back wages, penalties, and legal fees to 24 former field organizers who sued the union in 2013, reports the Los Angeles Times.
“The suit alleged that the UFW regularly required” the organizers “to work more than eight hours a day and 40 hours per week, did not provide meal periods after five hours of work and regularly issued pay stubs that did not specify the hours worked,” according to the Times.
In March, a Monterey County (Calif.) Superior Court judge ruled for the plaintiffs, and ordered the union to pay some $1.8 million. The union appealed the decision, but if the court accepts the settlement offer that appeal will be withdrawn, says the Times. The deal is to be submitted to the court on Oct. 11 and finalized after a Dec. 1 hearing.
“The high costs and risks of a lengthy appeal led the union to conclude that settling the case for an amount less than what the judge ordered is in the best interest of its members,” said a UFW spokesman.