Top Five Most Common Employment Mistakes By Wineries And Vineyards - And How To Fix Them

March 28, 2006

1)  Failure to Post
Every year the laws change with respect to information employers are required to post for review by employees.  Smaller and seasonal employers often have difficulty keeping up with these posting requirements or knowing to post the right information where all employees have access.  This is especially true for wineries, as different parts of the workforce may have access to different work facilities where such information is most commonly posted.   Fortunately, this is an easy problem to fix.  Each year the California Chamber of Commerce issues new employment law posters which reflect new state and federal requirements.  It’s especially important for wineries and vineyards with bilingual workers to post both the English and the Spanish language versions, and to be certain to post those in areas frequented by all their employees.

2)  Misclassification
While most wineries and vineyards accurately identify their field workers as either being entitled to overtime pay or exempt because they are salaried supervisors, wineries commonly misclassify their "white collar" salaried employees.  Many white collar jobs performed at wineries do not qualify as exempt from California overtime laws.  Thus, it is important for wineries to carefully examine their job classifications, particularly of their office workers, to ensure that they are not incurring potential liability for overtime and penalties.  This is especially a concern for employees who are not required to record their work hours, which is also a common practice in the offices and tasting rooms of wineries.  Proper classification of your workers can generally be accomplished through a consultation with an employment law attorney, and he or she can also advise you on how to best implement new classifications without incurring unwarranted risk.

3)  Failure to Accommodate Absences
In any work force, employees who are frequently absent from their jobs impose considerable burdens on their employers.  In wineries and vineyards, however, this can be a particularly acute burden, especially during the fall season and crush.  Wineries need to be careful, however, in disciplining or terminating employees who are excessively absent.  In many cases, these employees are protected by federal and state laws, and employers may have an obligation to inquire about the reason for the absence.   In some cases, it may be less expensive for wineries to hire temporary workers, or to consider other alternatives, rather than risk liability for failing to provide a required leave of absence.

4)  Ignoring the Complainer
One of the many advantages of the wine and hospitality industry is that employers often try to cultivate an informal atmosphere, which can build longevity and loyalty in the work force.  Unfortunately, informal work environments often carry a greater risk that employees who don’t get along with their co-workers or who chronically complain may not be taken seriously by their supervisors.  This is risky for employers because the fact that an employee has previously raised meritless complaints is not a defense if the employee raises a legitimate complaint, which goes unaddressed.  Thus, even in less formal work environments, it is important for employers to investigate and to document employment complaints, such as discrimination, harassment and retaliation.

5)  Failure to Train
Many wineries are aware of the new mandatory anti-harassment training requirement for supervisors, but believe they are exempt because they do not have at least 50 workers.  Even temporary workers, however, must be included when calculating the number of employees if they worked 20 consecutive weeks during the current or prior calendar year.  Moreover, even if the winery is not technically required to provide anti-harassment training for supervisors, a recent study indicates that approximately 80% of employers do formally train their supervisors, and this training is largely credited with the decreasing number of harassment and discrimination complaints.  Fortunately, anti-harassment training programs can be designed specifically for your workforce and can be conducted on site.