Employer record, U.S. Labor Department investigations

Prime Ag Services Wage and Hour Cases in California

Benjamin Eghbali, Esq.Legal notes by Benjamin Eghbali, Esq.

Prime Ag Services: 5 investigations, $5,091 in back wages for 66 workers, latest closed Feb 4, 2016.

Every federal wage and hour case closed in California since 2004 and a handful before: 30,596 investigations, 23,910 employers, $472,441,289 in back wages for 335,130 workers.

Prime Ag Services wage and hour record at a glance

Prime Ag Services appears in 5 concluded Wage and Hour Division investigations in California, closed between Jun 23, 2012 and Feb 4, 2016. 2 of them found violations, 75 in all, and the employer agreed to pay $5,091 in back wages to 66 workers, plus $7,350 in civil money penalties. The largest single case closed Feb 4, 2016 in Holtville with $4,914 for 62 workers. That places the employer at #7,629 of 23,910 California employers in the database by back wages.

Industry as coded by the Division: All Other Miscellaneous Crop Farming. Laws involved: FLSA, farm labor (MSPA).

Every case, newest first

Case closedPeriod investigatedCityFindingsBack wagesWorkers paidPenaltiesLaws
Feb 4, 2016Oct 2015 to Feb 2016Holtville69 violations$4,91462$6,150FLSA, farm labor (MSPA)
Apr 30, 2014Apr 2014 to Apr 2014Calexico6 violations$1774$1,200farm labor (MSPA)
Apr 30, 2014Apr 2014 to Apr 2014Calexicono violations found000
Jun 23, 2012Jun 2012 to Jun 2012Holtvilleno violations found000
Jun 23, 2012Jun 2012 to Jun 2012Holtvilleno violations found000

Also filed as: Julian Lopez-FLC; Julian Lopez - FLC; Julian Lopez.

How to read this record

Each row is one federal investigation. Period investigated is the span of payroll the Division reviewed, usually two years back from the complaint. Back wages is what the employer agreed to pay for that period at the federal rate; penalties went to the government, not to workers.

Back wages computed under the federal law are usually a fraction of the California number for the same hours: the state minimum is $16.90 in 2026, overtime starts after 8 hours in a day, and each missed meal or rest period adds an hour of pay. Workers paid in these cases may still be owed that difference, and the federal release form covers only the federal claim.

Full explainer: what a Labor Department case is, and what it is not.

If you work, or worked, at Prime Ag Services

Pull together your pay stubs and your own record of hours for the last three years, request your pay records in writing (the employer has 21 days under Labor Code 226), and keep any WH-58 receipt from a Labor Department payment. A free review tells you in one call whether the California numbers exceed what was paid, whether break premiums and waiting time penalties apply, and whether anything that happened after you complained counts as retaliation. Call (800) 371-3088 or send your stubs.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division enforcement database, California cases. Record last checked Oct 30, 2026. Back to the wage theft tracker.

About this data: Cases come from the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division enforcement database (WHD compliance actions concluded since fiscal year 2005, California employers only), published by the Department of Labor and reloaded here every month. "Back wages" are amounts the employer agreed to pay at the close of the investigation; "penalties" are civil money penalties assessed. An investigation that found no violation is listed as such. The database does not include California Labor Commissioner cases or private lawsuits. This page is general information, not legal advice about your situation.

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