Bay Area Contractor on Hook for Almost $1 Million in California Labor Lawsuit

San Francisco, CA A California labor lawsuit, and the resulting settlement, sends a message to all employers that they can’t attempt to take advantage of marginalized employees, for whom English is not their native language, without getting called to the legal carpet. To that end, a California construction company will have to now build the capability to fund a class-action lawsuit settlement that will cost the firm almost a million bucks.

The claim, against Ghilotti Brothers Inc. (Ghilotti Brothers, Ghilotti) of the Bay Area, was wage fraud. Which, of course, is in violation of California labor law.

According to San Jose Mercury News Business (4/24/14), the complaint revolved around work performed by many Spanish-speaking laborers prior to and following their shifts - primarily, loading and unloading trucks. For employees who are paid at or near minimum wage, tasks performed off the clock can translate to wage fraud given that all hours of work, properly documented, might ordinarily result in the payment of overtime according to statutes entrenched in California labor code.

The plaintiffs also allege that the defendant discouraged them from taking meal breaks and rest periods, further adding to the allegation of wage fraud and violation of California employment labor law.

The three lead plaintiffs in the class-action California labor lawsuit - Jose Ramirez, Luis Gomez and Marck Mena Ortega - allege their employer distributed English-language forms with their paychecks and required all employees to sign. It was alleged the forms warranted that Ghilotti had provided the employee all appropriate compensation. The problem with the form, said the plaintiffs, was that many employees are Spanish-speaking and thus did not understand what they were signing.

According to court documents, the lawsuit was originally filed in 2012 at Alameda County Superior Court, prior to the case being transferred to federal court in San Francisco. The California labor employment law settlement was granted final approval by US District Court Judge Charles Breyer on April 22.

Under the terms of the California labor law settlement, a total of $530,000 will be distributed to the 242 class members over the course of the next three years. The three lead plaintiffs will also receive an extra $15,000 for representing the class - although it was unclear if the three will receive $15,000 as a collective or individually. The remainder of the settlement will go toward attorney’s fees and court costs.

As part of the California employee labor law settlement, Ghilotti is required to establish a system whereby employees have the capacity to accurately record their start and stop times for work. The attorney representing the three lead plaintiffs - who still work for Ghilotti - noted in comments published in San Jose Mercury News Business that the problem(s) represented by this California class action is not unique in an industry that has a tendency to play fast, loose and lax with California prevailing wage law.

San Jose Mercury News Business reports that Ghilotti Brothers has reported more than $100 million in annual revenues.