California Overtime Lawsuit Settled

Los Angeles, CAA California overtime lawsuit, filed by mechanics who alleged their employer failed to pay them properly according to overtime pay laws, has been settled for approximately $3.5 million. The settlement affects approximately 200 mechanics in California who work for Schneider National Inc.

The Journal Sentinel (7/10/13) reports that the lawsuit was filed in 2010, on behalf of employees who alleged they were not paid properly for overtime pay and did not receive adequate rest and meal breaks. Employees would each receive around $9,000 to $10,000 of the settlement, while the rest of the money will go to employer payroll taxes, attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses. The company denied any wrongdoing.

Among the allegations were that mechanics regularly worked an 11-hour shift four days a week, but without a valid “alternative workweek schedule” and without overtime pay for more than eight hours worked in a day. Additionally, employees alleged Schneider did not provide second meal or additional rest breaks for the longer days, and “unlawfully wrote-off overtime hours actually reported by its employees in excess of their scheduled shifts,” according to court documents.

“Defendants knowingly and intentionally adopted unlawful and unfair policies and practices that: (i) required Plaintiffs and AWS Sub-Class members to work an alternative workweek schedule without complying with the strict requirements of the California Labor Code (and corresponding IWC Wage Orders) and/or without paying all daily overtime compensation due,” the plaintiffs alleged in court documents.

Alternative workweek schedules are permitted under the California Labor Code and include regularly scheduled workweeks in which an employee is required to work more than eight hours in a 24-hour period. But there are still requirements for overtime in an alternative workweek schedule. Under an alternative workweek schedule, there is no overtime required for regularly scheduled shifts of no more than 10 hours per workday, but overtime must be paid at a rate of one-and-one-half the employee’s regular rate for hours beyond the schedule up to 12 hours in a workday. This includes overtime pay for any days the employee works outside the schedule agreed to. Overtime beyond 12 hours in a day must be paid at twice the regular rate. There are also rules for how the alternative workweek schedule must be approved and adopted.

Mechanics also claimed that Schneider failed to pay full wages when employees were terminated and did not keep accurate wage statements.

The Schneider lawsuit is case number 10-cv-04565, US District Court, Central District of California.