California Unpaid Wages Legal News Articles & Interviews

Santa Clara, CA A California federal judge has given the green light for labor lawsuits accusing the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) of depriving U.S. college athletes of compensation for the commercial use of their “name, image and likeness” to proceed as an anti-trust class action. The plaintiffs, three college athletes, have accused the NCAA and its conferences of conspiring to restrict payments to athletes for television broadcasts, video games and other revenue sources.

Oakland, CA A lawsuit filed in California claims that Meta's Instagram and Facebook have “profoundly altered the psychological and social realities of a generation of young Americans" by knowingly and deliberately designing features that addict young people to its platforms. The lawsuit, which is filed in 33 states, alleges that such features are contributing to the youth mental health crisis. According to the complaint, its motive is profit.

Alameda, CA Equinox has agreed to pay $36 million to resolve two California labor lawsuits alleging the fitness company required more than 15,000 employees to perform pre-shift work without pay and to skip meal breaks. The settlement, which resolves California state and federal actions, covers those who worked for Equinox in California between April 3, 2015, and Dec. 31, 2022.

Los Angeles, CA On the heels of actors talking again to studios regarding labor issues and writers back at work, a background actor in Los Angeles has filed a proposed class action claiming HBO and the production company Cooler Waters Productions, LLC violated California labor laws. Violations include failure to pay overtime and meal and rest period premiums, failure to provide accurate wage statements and issue all wages earned prior to an employee’s termination.

Santa Clara, CA An unpaid wages lawsuit filed by former Amazon warehouse employees in a California federal court has reached a settlement. The lawsuit, filed in February 2021, accused Amazon of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act and the California Labor Code when they were forced to undergo unpaid COVID-19 screenings before clocking in. They spent at least 10 to 15 minutes being screened before each shift.

San Francisco, CA The City of San Francisco at the end of August filed a lawsuit against Qwick Inc., accusing the hospitality staffing company of misclassifying their workers as independent contractors to deny them guaranteed wages and benefits. Qwick workers are unable to receive overtime, meals and rest breaks, health care or paid leave, and San Francisco city attorney David Chiu says Qwick has an "unfair business advantage" over businesses abiding by the California labor and employment laws.

Santa Clara, CA Apple Inc. workers who filed a wage-and-hour dispute in a California court have settled for $500,000. An investigation, which began in early 2022, showed that Apple’s overtime pay rate each month did not include the commissions that Solutions Consultants earned that month and Apple did not pay all Solutions Consultants for travel time between required meetings and their worksites.

San Francisco, CA X.Corp, formerly Twitter Inc., asked a California federal judge at the beginning of August to dismiss a proposed California labor class action alleging the company illegally denied bonuses. The social media company argued that it decides whether to pay or deny extra incentive pay. But Twitter employees who were told that they would receive their bonus for 2022 disagree. The lawsuit represents employees who worked for Twitter during the first quarter of 2023 and were covered by Twitter's bonus plan but did not receive any incentive pay for 2022.

Anaheim, CA More than 25,000 Disney employees will see a pay increase following a California appellate court ruling in July that said Walt Disney Parks must follow Anaheim city law and pay its Disneyland Resort employees a living wage.

Los Angeles, CA A group of current and former female employees at Walt Disney Co. claim they were paid at least $150 million less than men in similar middle-management positions, which violates the Fair Employment & Housing Act and California's Equal Pay Act.