San Mateo County is suing two companies over alleged wage violations affecting nearly 50 workers at a plant nursery near Half Moon Bay, including about two dozen workers who the county says went completely unpaid for up to three pay periods late last year.

The San Mateo County Attorney's Office filed the civil lawsuit Aug. 10 in San Mateo County Superior Court against Cal Coast Orchids LLC and Mixtiles USA, which does business as EasyPlant. The county announced the lawsuit Aug. 20.

The complaint alleges the two companies jointly employed nearly 50 workers who experienced repeated labor violations between 2022 and late 2025, including violations of San Mateo County's minimum wage ordinance and California labor laws.

About two dozen workers received no pay at all for up to three full pay periods covering work in November and December 2025, according to the county. Those periods included long hours leading up to Black Friday and the December holidays.

"When an employer accepts a worker's labor, they take on a clear legal duty: pay that employee fully and lawfully," County Attorney John D. Nibbelin said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.

Cal Coast Orchids is an ornamental plant producer with facilities near Half Moon Bay and in Los Osos, California, according to the county. The company's Half Moon Bay production and fulfillment facility operated along Highway 1 across from Ocean Colony, according to the Half Moon Bay Review.

The complaint asks the court to order the defendants to pay back wages, other damages and civil penalties. The county has not publicly stated the total amount it is seeking.

Some workers raised concerns months before the lawsuit was filed. In a March 17 KALW report, workers described late and missing paychecks at the orchid operation.

Worker Oscar E. de León told KALW that paychecks began arriving late or incomplete in late summer 2025. He said he received no pay in November, and by December three pay periods had gone unpaid.

De León said workers continued preparing holiday orchid shipments because they believed completing the orders might help the company generate enough money to pay them. After the shipments were completed, he said, the employer stopped responding to WhatsApp messages.

"Right when it's Christmas, we have to pay rent and also pay for our kids' gifts," de León told KALW.

Workers turned to Coastside Hope, a Half Moon Bay community organization that supports farmworkers, and San Mateo County's Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement for help.

KALW reported in March that de León and about 20 former coworkers had since found jobs at Rocket Farms, a wholesale greenhouse grower in Half Moon Bay, where they said they were being paid regularly.

The OLSE launched in July 2025. It is a partnership between the County Executive's Office, County Attorney's Office and District Attorney's Office aimed at enforcing workplace protections in San Mateo County.

KALW reported that the office had received close to 200 calls through its hotline as of March. The county also publicized a November 2025 case in which a farmworker couple who worked at a Half Moon Bay hemp farm recovered nearly $12,000 in lost wages.

In March, Chief Equity Officer Shireen Malekafzali Taidi, who directs the OLSE, told KALW the office aims to protect workers while preventing employers that violate wage laws from gaining an advantage over businesses that follow them.

Cal Coast Orchids, Mixtiles USA and EasyPlant did not respond to requests for comment from Bay City News after the lawsuit was filed, according to an Aug. 20 Bay City News report.

The case is People of the State of California v. Cal Coast Orchids, LLC, et al., Case No. 26-CIV-06206.

Workers and employers can reach the OLSE's confidential multilingual Labor Advice Hotline at 1-866-870-7725 or by email at [email protected].