California Labor Lawsuit Class Members Want Dispute Back in State Court

San Francisco, CA A California labor lawsuit brought against a subsidiary of the giant Starbucks coffee juggernaut and filed originally in state court actually belongs in state court, according to the plaintiffs. The class-action lawsuit against Bay Bread LLC and two other co-defendants involves allegations with regard to missed rest periods and overtime pay with a class of plaintiffs, the majority of whom live in California.

According to court documents, a La Boulange bakery factory and another facility lay at the center of a dispute that also involves temporary workers. According to attorneys representing the class, 99.7 percent of the potential class members live in the state, regardless of whether or not they are temporary or employees that have more permanency.

The lead plaintiffs in the dispute are Norma Serrano and Maria Grande (Serrano et al v. Bay Bread LLC et al, case number 3:14-cv-01087, in the US District Court for the Northern District of California). In their complaint the two California women claim that they worked at a Bay Bread factory in South San Francisco, as well as a bakery in Newark owned by co-defendant Fullbloom Baking. At both locations, according to the plaintiffs, they were denied complete and full wages and adequate rest periods according to California and labor law that would apply to the San Francisco location, at least.

Another co-defendant is Aerotek Inc., a temporary staffing agency. After the California labor employment lawsuit was filed in San Mateo County Superior Court in January, the defendants petitioned to have the lawsuit moved to federal court two months later. They argued that the dispute could exceed $7 million and involve nearly 1,200 class members. Co-defendant Aerotek, the temporary staffing agency, is based in Maryland.

That doesn’t hold water with the plaintiffs, who want the lawsuit moved back to state court.

At issue are the temporary workers who the defendants claim are transient by nature. However, with the vast majority of class members having addresses in California and Bay Bread also headquartered in the state, it would be reasonable to expect that the state of California has jurisdiction.

US District Court Judge Thelton Henderson, the presiding justice in the California and labor law dispute, appears to be aligning himself with the plaintiffs and has challenged the various co-defendants to provide further grounds to support leaving the case in federal court.

“Given that 99.7 percent of [the class members] live here, it’s reasonable to conclude that two-thirds are California citizens,” Judge Henderson is quoted as saying.

According to court documents Bay Bread does business as La Boulange. The latter is a chain of cafes purchased by Starbucks two years ago.