Lawsuits Filed for Violations of California Labor Law

San Diego, CALockheed Martin's motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit involving California labor law was recently denied by a court in the Southern District of California.

Labor lawyers acting on behalf of industrial security representatives employed by the company originally filed the lawsuit in 2009, which alleged that Lockheed Martin violated the state's wage and hour laws when it failed to pay certain employees overtime wages solely based on their job title, according to a release.

The suit also alleged that the company violated California employment law when it did not provide workers with breaks stipulated by regulations. The Lockheed Martin industrial security representative class-action lawsuit alleges that the company violated California Labor Code when it denied the employees these breaks.

It is also alleged in the lawsuit that employees who made an effort to utilize these breaks were threatened with potential legal repercussions in the form of time-card fraud charges. As a result, the employees did not take the breaks that they were entitled to under the law.

The industrial security representatives claim that they should not be classified as exempt employees since they do not meet the criteria specified under California overtime laws and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Another alleged violation of California labor law has triggered a class-action lawsuit against Starbucks that has been filed in Santa Clara Superior Court. According to documents filed by the plaintiffs, baristas allege that they were denied both minimum and overtime wages.

The suit claims that the workers were also not provided with proper documentation on their wages paid. In addition to these allegations, baristas claim that they attended mandatory training where their hours were falsely documented. As a result of this improper documentation, the workers were not paid the applicable wages they earned.

A Bay area employment lawyer told the media outlet that these actions constitute a direct violation of California employment laws.

"California employees are entitled to be paid for every hour they are under the control of their employer," he said. "For every hour worked beyond eight hours in a single workday, or 40 hours in a workweek, the employer is bound by California employment laws to pay their employees overtimes wages. California employment laws also mandate that employees be compensated for all mandatory training, which includes off-the-clock training that may include menu tests, or customer service training."