California Labor Law Wage Theft = 865 Employees, Three Time Clocks
Late last month the California Labor Commissioner, Julie A. Su, issued a series of California labor code citations totaling more than $1 million against Quetico LLC.
According to a release from PR Newswire (1/28/13), Quetico employed only three time clocks in the entire complex to service more than 800 employees. Workers, according to the release, were relegated to waiting in long lines just to clock in and out of work - and for their meal periods. In order to avoid being penalized for reporting for work late, due to the lineups at the time clock(s), employees were forced to arrive at the worksite increasingly early, in order to accommodate the long lineups to punch in, so they would avoid reporting for work late.
It is not known if the citations stemmed from a California labor lawsuit or simply from an investigation. Nonetheless, the investigation undertaken by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement on behalf of the exploited workers, noted that employees coming into work early on a consistent basis just to deal with the long lineups at the time clock, were not be compensated for those extra hours.
The same held true for meal periods, according to the report. Employees, according to California labor employment law guidelines, were allotted a 30-minute meal period each shift. However, they were also required to punch out at the beginning of their meal period, and punch back in upon its conclusion. The long lineups at the time clock would, according to the release, eat into their allotted meal period. Conversely, to avoid reporting back to work late, workers would have to cut their meal period short in order to line up yet again at the time clock, to punch back in.
It was alleged by the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) that Quetico would alter employee records to suggest employees were given the full benefit of their allotted 30-minute meal period, when in fact employees had been shortchanged.
The same held true at day’s end, when delays at the time clock would force workers to be at work beyond quitting time, just to punch out. Overtime was not paid in accordance with California and labor law. Workers who complained about the unpaid overtime were issued disciplinary memos by the employer, or so it was alleged. Three employees, who filed complaints with the Office of the Labor Commissioner, were suspended from their jobs.
“Wage theft takes many forms,” said Labor Commissioner Su in a statement. “My office will crack down on any employer who is taking hard-earned wages from workers by falsifying time cards and systematically preventing employees from taking a full meal break. We are also intent on eliminating the competitive advantages that labor law violators gain over employers who play by the rules.”
California state labor laws hold that workers in all industries are allotted appropriate meal and rest periods, and - unless a job is classified as exempt from overtime - that overtime pay be provided for all hours spent at the workplace over and above the standard work week, as defined under California employee labor law.
Workers shortchanged according to provisions in California prevailing wage law often seek redress through a California labor lawsuit. The state of California, in particular, is aggressive in pursuing unsavory employment practices on the part of employers, in order to better protect the rights of workers. Lawsuits, either filed by the Office of the California Labor Commissioner or by individuals, or a class of individuals, are often part of the process.
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