Luis Morales-Garcia v. Better Produce, Inc.

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

LUIS MORALES-GARCIA; BENITO No. 22-55119

PEREZ-REYEZ; CESAR JIMENEZ-

MENDOZA; GABRIELA RENDON- D.C. No. VASQUEZ; JUANA VELASCO- 2:18-cv-05118- TORRES, on behalf of themselves and SVW-JPR all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Appellants,

OPINION

v.

BETTER PRODUCE, INC.; RED

BLOSSOM SALES, INC.,

Defendants-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California Stephen V. Wilson, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted February 10, 2023 Pasadena, California

Filed June 1, 2023

Before: Mary M. Schroeder, Richard C. Tallman, and Sandra S. Ikuta, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Schroeder 2 MORALES-GARCIA V. BETTER PRODUCE, INC.

SUMMARY*

California Labor Code

The panel affirmed the district court’s ruling in favor of defendants Red Blossom Sales, Inc. and Better Produce, Inc., after a bench trial, in a case that concerns the application of a California labor law enacted to protect workers whose labor has been outsourced to a labor provider. Under the statute, Cal. Labor Code §…