Campbell’s accused by SD city attorney of improperly labeling workers as contractors

The San Diego City Attorney’s Office is suing The Campbell’s Company for allegedly misclassifying its workers in California as independent contractors.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in San Diego Superior Court, claims Campbell’s and its subsidiaries – Snyder’s-Lance and Pepperidge Farm – should classify its distributors as employees rather than independent contractors under California law.

The complaint asserts that Campbell’s uses a “direct-store-delivery” model requiring
workers to stock products like Pepperidge Farm cookies and Snyder’s pretzels on retail shelves.

The complaint states that by labeling workers as independent contractors, the companies “evade core wage protections in this state like minimum wage, overtime, expense reimbursement, sick pay, and others.”

A spokesperson for The Campbell’s Company said it declined to comment on pending litigation.

The City Attorney’s Office argues that under the three prongs of the ABC test, which is used to determine worker classifications in California, Campbell’s workers should be considered employees.

The ABC test holds that workers are presumed to be employees unless it’s shown that the worker is free from the company’s control, that the work performed is outside the company’s usual course of business and that the worker runs an independently established business of the same nature.

“California law is clear: workers who perform essential functions under a company’s control are employees, not independent contractors,” San Diego City Attorney Heather Ferbert said in a statement. “Misclassification robs workers of basic protections, hurts law-abiding businesses, and undermines our economy.”