Fired farmworker who raised safety concerns awarded his job back, $17,000 in lost wages

A Salinas farmworker who was allegedly fired for complaining about unsafe working conditions has been awarded $17,000 in lost wages, after a settlement was reached between his employers and state regulators.

The worker filed a complaint with the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board, or ALRB, alleging that he was fired in retaliation for reporting concerns on behalf of himself and his coworkers that involved a cauliflower harvesting machine that was operating at an unsafe speed, and allegations that workers were not being given cooling breaks during hot weather and workers were not being paid correctly.