San Mateo County announced Thursday that it has filed a lawsuit against a plant nursery that operated a production facility in Half Moon Bay after workers accused the company of wage theft and other labor violations.
“When an employer accepts a worker’s labor, they take on a clear legal duty: pay that employee fully and lawfully,” said County Attorney John Nibbelin in a statement. “We are taking enforcement action because San Mateo County businesses must be accountable for their obligations as employers.”
Cal Coast Orchids, a company that produces and sells plants, ran a fulfillment and production center on state Highway 1 in Half Moon Bay until ceasing operations there in December 2025, according to the lawsuit.
Last year, the county’s Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement began receiving complaints that the company allegedly did not pay wages on time, did not pay overtime hours, and underpaid its workers.
About 50 employees who worked at the Half Moon Bay center between 2022 and 2025 suffered a “sustained, systemic pattern of wage theft and labor violations,” according to the civil complaint filed by the county earlier this month.
Cal Coast Orchids is also accused of not paying workers minimum wage and not providing required meal breaks.
For multiple pay periods that included long hours and overtime during the 2025 holiday season, about two dozen workers were allegedly not paid at all.
“This and other violations have caused major hardship for workers and their families, with ripple effects throughout the close-knit coastside community where most of the affected employees reside,” the county said in a statement.
The lawsuit also names Mixtiles USA, a company that contracted with Cal Coast Orchids, as a defendant. Mixtiles USA owns EasyPlant, an online plant delivery service that had an agreement with Cal Coast Orchids to procure and package its plant shipments at the Half Moon Bay facility.
Cal Coast Orchids, Mixtiles USA and EasyPlant did not respond to requests for comment.
The suit accuses EasyPlant of continuing to contract with Cal Coast Orchids despite knowing that workers were not being paid on time.
“The agreement was executed after EasyPlant knew, or reasonably should have known, that Cal Coast was failing to timely pay wages owed to the workers,” the complaint reads. “Nevertheless, EasyPlant continued the arrangement under which the workers supported its operations.”
The complaint asks that Cal Coast Orchids and Mixtiles USA pay back owed wages and other damages, as well as civil penalties.
“All workers in San Mateo County deserve to be treated respectfully and paid fairly for the work they have completed,” the county said.
Workers and employers seeking help or more information on labor requirements can contact the San Mateo County Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement by calling the confidential and multilingual advice hotline at 1-866-870-7725, sending an email to olse@smcgov.org, or submitting an online inquiry.
