California State Judge Opens Door For El Pollo Loco Workers to Seek Back Pay In Lawsuit Filed By Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif, (PRWEB) August 03, 2018 -- On July 30, 2018, the Honorable Judge William Claster ruled a lawsuit brought on behalf of hourly El Pollo Loco workers in California should be able to proceed as a class action. The El Pollo Loco class action lawsuit, Case No. JCCP 4957, is currently pending in the Orange County Superior Court for the State of California. The Court's opinion certifying the two El Pollo Loco classes can be read here.
The class action lawsuit originally filed by the Los Angeles Labor Law Lawyers at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP in February of 2014 can be read here. The lawsuit alleges that El Pollo Loco required hourly employees to work off the clock after their closing shifts and also allegedly failed to provide their Golden State workers with off-duty rest periods.
The Honorable Judge William claster stated in his order "[t]he underpinning of this claim is that Defendant, pursuant to an established written policy, did not allow its employees to leave restaurant premises during their paid 10 minute breaks. According to Plaintiff, this across-the-board limitation on all employees violates the IWC wage orders and Labor Code Section 226.7 which require duty-free rest breaks . . . The Court finds that Plaintiff has satisfied the commonality requirement."
The court has certified the following Rest Break class in its Order:
“[A]ll individuals employed by [El Pollo Loco, Inc.] as a non-exempt employees in one of the restaurants owned by Defendant El Pollo Loco, Inc. in California from february 24, 2010 to the present." The Judge's Order certifying the Rest Break class of can be read here. According to the Order, the rest break class includes approximately 14,650 employees.
The Court also certified a class of hourly cooks who worked at least one closing shift, but asked the Parties to meet and confer regarding a revised class definition. According to the Order, the off-the-clock hourly cook class includes approximately 3,403 employees.
In the coming months, all individuals who part of the classes will be notified of their rights. If you work in California and need employment law advice contact attorney Nicholas J. De Blouw at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP at (415) 935-3957.
Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP is a labor law firm with law offices located in San Diego County, Riverside County, Los Angeles County, Sacramento County, and San Francisco County. The firm has a statewide practice of representing employees on a contingency basis for violations involving unpaid wages, overtime pay, discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination and other types of illegal workplace conduct.
***This is an attorney advertisement***
Nicholas De Blouw, Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP, http://bamlawca.com, +1 (858) 952-0354, [email protected]
Share this article