You work hard for your money and deserve to be paid the wages you are owed. Unfortunately, some companies still require their employees to work off-the-clock in order to reap huge profits.
Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber, LLP (“FBFG”) has been at the forefront of fighting to protect workers’ rights. We are currently representing the plaintiff and other store employees in the case Wasko v. Smart & Final, No. 34-2017-00224484-CU-OE-GDS (Cal. Super. Sacramento Cnty.) The plaintiff in this action alleges that Smart & Final: 1) required him and other store employees to work off-the-clock without pay in violation of Labor Code §§ 1194, 1197, and 1197.1; 2) failed to pay the required overtime to him or the other store employees in violation of Labor Code § 510; 3) failed to provide him and other store employees with a 10 minute paid rest period for every 4 hours worked in violation of Labor Code § 226.7 and Cal. Code Regs. tit. 8, § 11020(12); 4) failed to provide him and other store employees with a 30 minute unpaid meal break after 5 hours of work or a second 30 minute unpaid meal break after 10 hours of work in violation of Labor Code § 226.7 and Cal. Code Regs. tit. 8, § 11020(11); 5) failed to timely provide him and other store employees with wage statements providing the information required under Labor Code § 226(a) including total hours worked and all applicable hourly rates; and 6) failed to timely pay him and other store employees after they left the company.
We have had many successes in this case to date. First, we defeated Smart & Final’s attempt to compel arbitration of the plaintiff’s claims. FBFG successfully argued that claims brought pursuant to the California Private Attorneys General Act, Cal. Labor Code §§ 2698, et seq. (“PAGA”) could not be forced into arbitration. We also defeated Smart & Final’s motion seeking to bifurcate the issue of the plaintiff’s standing as an aggrieved employee under PAGA. Recently, we successfully moved to compel Smart & Final to produce discovery regarding all of the company’s store employees in the State of California.
FBFG has been fighting hard to obtain relief for Smart & Final employees who were allegedly subjected to these violations. Also, unfortunately, FBFG has received reports that Smart & Final may have subjected employees to other types of misconduct, such as locking them in the store overnight, sexual harassment, and retaliation. If Smart & Final deprived you of your rights as an employee or of the wages you were owed, please contact FBFG today to discuss your legal options.