Rancho Gordo faces discrimination lawsuit

Rancho Gordo faces discrimination lawsuit

A former worker who packaged shipments of beans at Rancho Gordo in Napa has sued the cult-favorite company, alleging she was discriminated against at work and fired for being pregnant.

The lawsuit, which Martha Martinez filed in July 2021 in Napa County Superior Court, accuses Rancho Gordo of discrimination based on sex, national origin and pregnancy; retaliation and wrongful termination. She is seeking financial damages for lost wages and benefits and emotional distress, as well as “punitive damages in an amount sufficient to punish and deter (Rancho Gordo’s) conduct, and to set an example for others,” the complaint states.

The case is set to go to trial in Napa on Tuesday. Rancho Gordo, a nationally renowned darling of the food world and a company that publicly positions itself as a supporter of workers’ rights, has denied and fought the claims in court for nearly two years. 

Rancho Gordo, which owner Steve Sando started in Napa 20 years ago, is known for its hit bean club, which sends members a box of dried legumes several times a year. The popular club has a waiting list of more than 40,000 people.

Sando declined to comment on the suit. In legal documents, the company says that the employees involved in deciding to end Martinez’s employment were unaware she was pregnant and that she has failed to provide enough evidence for the alleged discrimination.

Rancho Gordo, a wildly popular bean company, is facing discrimination allegations from a former temporary worker.

Rancho Gordo, a wildly popular bean company, is facing discrimination allegations from a former temporary worker.

Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

Martinez began working at Rancho Gordo’s Napa warehouse during the holiday rush in November 2019. She had never heard of the wildly popular bean company before, she said in an interview with The Chronicle. A temporary staffing agency had placed her there as a shipping clerk, she said, assembling packages of heirloom beans to be shipped to thousands of customers across the country. 

The job was good at first, Martinez said. But soon, her lawsuit alleges, co-workers and supervisors made offensive comments about her background. Martinez is Salvadoran.  

The lawsuit states they made remarks such as, “Las Salvadoreans son bien calientes,” or “Salvadorans are very horny” and “Las Salvadoreans son como putas y les gusta quitarle los maridos a las otras,” which means, “Salvadorans they are like whores. They like to take husbands away from others.” Her supervisor “participated in these offensive remarks and also observed co-workers engaging in derogatory, harassing treatment” of Martinez, the lawsuit alleges. 

Martinez said she tried to ignore the comments and did not report the alleged behavior to anyone at Rancho Gordo at the time. She feels badly, she said, that she didn’t speak up.

“I feel emotional. It’s affected me a lot,” she said in Spanish. “It’s affecting me right now.”

Martha Martinez has filed a discrimination lawsuit against popular bean company Rancho Gordo.

Martha Martinez has filed a discrimination lawsuit against popular bean company Rancho Gordo.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

Rancho Gordo says in court documents that these “negative” comments were limited to a single occasion when Martinez was first hired, and that they were not directed at Martinez personally. Martinez testified that they occurred on one day, but that on other occasions co-workers made comments about her body and how she dressed, though it’s unclear whether that was related to her background.