Portland labor lawyers have filed an aggressive and potentially precedent-setting class-action lawsuit against a Portland baked goods manufacturer, alleging the company overworked its production line employees—many of whom are vulnerable immigrants and refugees with limited English skills, they said—and bilked them out of overtime pay.
The suit—which seeks both daily and weekly overtime pay for workers—is unheard of in Oregon, and could have a major impact on the manufacturing industry in the state. For now, though, it’s focused on one Gresham business: Portland Specialty Baking (PSB).
About 175 production line workers at the plant mass-produce baked goods for outlets like Starbucks, Walmart, and Jamba Juice under the “Franz” and “Rich’s” labels.
Seven named plaintiffs, along with other current and former employees that the suit is aimed at compensating and protecting, “are hard workers, and many of them come to this country from difficult circumstances, seeking to start to start new lives,” said Corinna Spencer-Scheurich, an attorney and deputy director of the Northwest Workers’ Justice Project (NWJP), which filed the complaint. “The lawsuit is seeking to assure these Oregonians have fair working conditions and pay.”