ALRB general counsel announces Santa Barbara settlement: harvester reinstated, $1,600 back pay

General Counsel Julia Montgomery reported that the Agricultural Labor Relations Board achieved a settlement in a Santa Barbara County case involving a strawberry harvester.

Montgomery said the board filed unfair labor practice charges in late April 2025 alleging that J&G Farms retaliated by refusing to rehire a harvester who participated in a work stoppage and that the employer also retaliated because of the worker’s affiliation with the nonprofit My Cal. "The parties reached a settlement with the ALRB in which the company offered charging party reinstatement and agreed to pay all of the back pay owed, which was $1,600 which included the interest as well," Montgomery said.

The settlement includes the usual posted notice to workers and was credited by Montgomery as a timely resolution by Region One staff and the Santa Maria office. The board’s report framed the settlement as an example of the agency’s enforcement and outreach efforts.

The board did not provide further case documents in public session; Montgomery’s announcement was the only public case outcome discussed at the meeting.