LABOR

Hundreds of strawberry pickers will receive $575,000 as part of a settlement over disputed overtime pay from a grower, the United Farm Workers said. The case was filed by the UFW as a class-action suit on behalf of three Gargiulo Inc. workers, who claimed they were forced to work without pay before and after their shifts officially began. The agreement came 10 days after the strawberry company was sold to two Washington venture capitalists. UFW President Arturo Rodriguez said the exact number of workers who will receive a share of the settlement is expected to be determined soon, but it is estimated to be in the hundreds. Rich Nelson, a spokesman for Monsanto Corp. of St. Louis, Gargiulo’s former parent company, said the settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing on the part of Gargiulo. He said the settlement must still be approved by the courts before it is finalized.