By Eliza Ridgeway

Alleged wages and hours violations at Westwind Barn, filed by barn ranch hands with the state labor commission this winter, are scheduled for a preliminary hearing next week.

The labor standards enforcement division of the California Department of Industrial Relations has scheduled a meeting Monday to assess the alleged labor code violations against Friends of Westwind Barn.

According to a notice from the labor department, the employees are pursuing back payment of overtime wages. The barn lease requires an employee remain on call at the facility 24 hours a day. Two staff members rotate shifts at the barn, alternating use of the one-room staff quarters for the nighttime hours.

California’s labor code includes extensive regulations determining lodging, mealtimes, break and overtime requirements that are subject to legal interpretation. For agricultural workers, state labor code defines overtime as hours worked in excess of 10 hours in any workday and the first eight hours worked on the seventh day of any workweek.

Employee Ignacio “Nacho” Carranza Dec. 29, 2005, filed a wage claim for $332,178.50 for unpaid overtime. On Jan. 17, employee Gregorio Rodriguez filed a claim for $249,672.

The town of Los Altos Hills, owner of the barn, has not been named as a defendant in the case. City Councilman Craig Jones, chairman of the ad hoc committee assessing Westwind Barn, said that the town has sent a statement to the commission but does not expect to attend the meeting.

“We’re the owner of the property, not the manager,” Jones said. “Until something goes from accusation to proof, there is a limit to what we can do.”

The town has met repeatedly in closed session in recent months to discuss control of Westwind Barn. A clause of the town’s lease with Friends of Westwind requires compliance with labor laws, Jones said.

To change the management of the barn, the 10-year lease signed between Friends and the town in 2004 would have to be broken, or some other legal action pursued, such as condemnation of the property under eminent domain.

A deputy labor commissioner is scheduled to meet with Friends and barn employees Rodriguez and Carranza to mediate the complaint. If no agreement is reached, the case will proceed to a public formal hearing, according to Dean Fryer, spokesman for the state labor commissioner. After the hearing, the labor commissioner will issue a judgment.

If found in violation of the state labor code, Friends of Westwind will receive a court order demanding payment to Rodriguez and Carranza of back wages and penalties due. Friends could appeal such a payment order.