Santa Clara, CA: A $700,000 wage-and-hour settlement has been reached in an employment class action lawsuit pending against a McDonald' franchise in California. Filed by current and former employees, Stephanie Ochoa and other plaintiffs in the Bay Area, the lawsuit alleges the Edward J. Smith and Valerie S. Smith Family Limited Partnership violated California labor law.
According to the terms of the agreement, the defendants will make changes to its employment practices and pay $700,000, in addition to a previously agreed $65,267.68 the franchisee will pay to a subclass in the proposed class action. McDonald' USA LLC and McDonald' Corp. are not part of the proposed settlement.
In addition to the payments, Smith agreed to pay overtime premiums, compensate employees when they don't get "full and timely"breaks, provide detailed wage statements, and give clean aprons to employees exposed to smoke or grease.
The lawsuit was filed in March 2014, just one of many such suits filed over alleged wage violations at McDonald'.
The case is Ochoa et al v. McDonald's Corp et al., case number 3:14-cv-02098, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
