The State - News from April 29, 1987

A Monterey County strawberry grower was declared liable for damages to about 300 workers he housed in caves and shacks and paid less than the minimum wage. Jose Ballin of Salinas was convicted on 23 criminal counts for making his workers live in dwellings considered uninhabitable, for operating an unlicensed labor camp and for supplying contaminated water to renters on his property. The California Rural Legal Assistance Corp. filed the class-action suit seeking civil damages. After two days of pretrial negotiations in the chambers of Superior Court Judge John Phillips, settlement of the suit was announced, with damages and compensation awarded to 300 workers employed by Ballin between 1983 and 1985.