California Labor Law: C&S Grocers Class Action—Again

Sacramento, CA A recent (February 2011) C&S Wholesale Grocers class-action lawsuit claims that the giant grocery chain deliberately cheated its workers to avoid paying overtime, and violated a number of other California labor laws. If you were employed by C&S Wholesale Grocers during the past four years or work for any company that has refused to pay overtime, and believe your California labor rights to overtime pay have been violated, read on...

C&S has to be one of the worst companies in the United States to work for. This latest class-action suit alleges that the second-largest wholesale grocery store supplier in the United States misclassified warehouse supervisors as exempt to avoid paying overtime, did not allow employees to take meal and rest breaks or pay them for these missed breaks, failed to pay them minimum wages, and failed to keep accurate payroll records and supply accurate wage statements.

Not only has C&S allegedly failed to pay its employees overtime pay, it has also been accused of punishing workers for mistakes on the job by decreasing their wages! Yes, this practice apparently takes place in the US today and not in Siberia during the 20th century. Pay decrease is prohibited under the California labor law and in every state where C&S operates.

C&S must have deep pockets, or believe it is above the law, or both: a nationwide class action in 2006 was filed by C&S employees seeking $750 million in unpaid wages and overtime under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state labor laws in each of the 14 states, including California, where the company operates warehouses. This suit applied to workers who have been employed by C&S since 2000, with identical violations.

According to attorneys who represented the plaintiffs in 2006, C&S “violates federal and state laws by illegally chopping workers’ wages as punishment for mistakes on the job; failing to pay overtime; failing to pay for time worked in excess of 10 hours; failing to pay employees their agreed hourly rates; and encouraging employees to work off-the-clock and through lunch without pay.”

A lead attorney for the C&S employees said that “C&S punishes an entire team of workers for one person’s mistake. C&S employees work in 4-8 member ‘selection’ teams. If one team member makes an error, for example selecting a case of apple juice instead of grape juice, C&S collectively punishes everyone on that team and cuts their pay.”

Meanwhile, the company projected record revenues of $18 billion for 2006, thanks to their employees for making profits possible.

The Sacramento suit was brought on behalf of warehouse supervisors or employees who held similar job titles and/or performed similar job duties, and who worked for C&S in California from February 3, 2007, to the present. About 20,000 people are employed by C&S nationwide. In 2006, Forbes magazine listed it as the seventh-largest privately held company in the United States. Shame on you, C&S.