San Diego City Attorney Heather Ferbert announced a lawsuit against the Campbell’s Company alleging the misclassification of workers as independent contractors.
SAN DIEGO – The San Diego City Attorney’s Office has filed a lawsuit, on behalf of the People of the State of California, against The Campbell’s Company and its subsidiaries, Snyder’s-Lance and Pepperidge Farm, alleging that the snack food giant misclassified hundreds of California workers as independent contractors in violation of labor laws.
The Complaint asserts that Campbell’s uses a “direct-store-delivery” model requiring workers to stock and merchandise products like Pepperidge Farm cookies and Snyder’s pretzels on retail shelves. Despite exercising extensive control over these workers and relying on them for core business operations, Campbell’s classifies them as independent contractors— denying them minimum wage, overtime pay, expense reimbursement, sick leave, and other legal protections.
Under California law, workers are presumed to be employees unless the company can satisfy all parts of the strict ABC test— that means proving the worker is free from the company’s control, that the work performed is outside the company’s usual course of business, and that the worker runs an independently established business of the same nature. According to the lawsuit, Campbell’s fails all three.
“California law is clear: workers who perform essential functions under a company’s control are employees, not independent contractors.” said City Attorney Heather Ferbert. “Misclassification robs workers of basic protections, hurts law-abiding businesses, and undermines our economy. This lawsuit seeks to end these unlawful practices and restore fairness for workers and competitors alike.”
The People seek injunctive relief to stop the misclassification, restitution for affected workers, and civil penalties under California’s Unfair Competition Law.
The case is being handled by the Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE) Unit of the City Attorney’s Office, with Nicholas & Tomasevic LLP as co-counsel. The ACE Unit pursues public interest actions on behalf of the People of the State of California. The Complaint is attached here.
Source: San Diego City Attorney Sues Campbell’s for Misclassifying Workers