150 temporary cannery workers sue over unpaid quarantine (The Maritime Executive)

A group of 150 temporary workers filed a lawsuit on Friday against Seattle-based North Pacific Seafoods, a salmon cannery operator, over an allegedly unpaid quarantine period at a hotel in Los Angeles. The Maritime Executive reported the workers were given a coronavirus test (in keeping with the State of Alaska’s requirements for inbound seafood processing workers) and quarantined for four days while they awaited the results. Three tested positive, according to the lawsuit, and the firm asked the group to complete an additional 11 days of quarantine — allegedly without pay. The complaint also alleges that the company threatened to fire the workers if they broke quarantine and that the hotel deactivated their room key cards so that they could not return if they departed. (The hotel is also named in the suit.)