Santa Cruz Seaside Co. Pays $6M in Unpaid Wages

Santa Cruz, CAThe Santa Cruz Seaside Co., which runs the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, has settled a California labor lawsuit filed by current and former employees for close to $6 million. The class action lawsuit filed in July 2023, accuses the company of eight labor law violations.

Plaintiff Travis Sanford, residing in Santa Cruz County, was hired as a seasonal food service worker at the Boardwalk from August 2016 to December 2021. Sanford’s class action lawsuit accuses Santa Cruz Seaside Co. of the following labor violations:

• failed to provide minimum wages for all hours worked,
• failed to provide proper pay of all overtime wages for all hours worked,
• denied meal breaks,
• denied rest breaks,
• failed to provide timely pay of all wages upon termination of employment,
• failed to provide accurate wage statements,
• failed to reimburse necessary business-related expenses, and
• failed to adhere to other related protections afforded by the California Labor Code and applicable Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order.

According to Sanford’s complaint, he and other workers often worked in excess of eight hours in a day, sometimes even more than twelve hours in a day, which resulted in more than forty hours in a week. “However, Defendants did not record Plaintiff and the other class members’ actual hours worked and intentionally and willfully failed to pay all overtime wages owed to Plaintiff and the other class members and failed to pay one and-one half times the regular hourly rate for overtime hours.”

More than $3.5 million (after attorneys’ fees and processing fees) is allocated a for payments to employees who worked at the Seaside Company locations from July 25, 2019, through Aug. 11, 2024, according to The Mercury News. Notices of the settlement have been sent to the employees included in the class action and the Santa Cruz County Superior Court will hold a final approval hearing next year. Settlement checks will be distributed to the members of the class action lawsuit after the January 2025 hearing.

A spokesperson for the Santa Cruz Seaside Company, said that the settlement was preliminarily approved by the Santa Cruz County Superior Court on Sept. 17, and gave the The Mercury News the following statement:

“As a family-owned and operated century-old company, the trust and well-being of our employees is vital to us, and we care deeply about ensuring everyone in our employ is treated and compensated fairly,” the statement read. “While we deny the allegations in this case, we are pleased to agree to this settlement and put this matter behind us.”

The company since 1915 has been, “Providing families with affordable fun at the beach”. It operates the Beach Boardwalk, Boardwalk Bowl, the Sea and Sand Inn and the Carousel Beach Inn. At the Boardwalk, the Seaside Company operates all the rides, games, arcade and miniature golf as well as more than a dozen locations there offering food and drinks. Other concessionaires, such as Whiting’s Foods, run some of the 42 food locations there. Its website lists the following employee benefits:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• 401k and Profit Sharing
• Paid Time Off
• Employer-Paid Life Insurance
• Life Insurance Buy-Up Options
• Long-Term Disability
• Employee Assistance and Travel Assist Programs
• Bonuses
• Career development and training
• Pre-tax child and dependent care accounts