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California employees of Marlu Restaurant Group and related businesses stand to benefit from a recent unpaid wages class action settlement.
This settlement is the product of two consolidated wage and hour class action lawsuits. Plaintiff Joe Ortiz initiated this litigation by filing his own action in November 2014. Ortiz alleged Marlu Restaurant Group and the related defendants required some employees to work off the clock, and as a result those employees were owed unpaid wages under California law.
Ortiz also brought claims over the defendants’ alleged failure to properly record work hours and to provide accurate, itemized wage statements. He also claimed the defendants failed to reimburse employees for work-related expenses.
In August 2016, a group of managers working for the various defendants filed their own unpaid wages class action lawsuit. Plaintiff Richard Barajas and eight other plaintiffs raised claims similar to Ortiz’s, plus some other additional claims.
These plaintiffs alleged that Marlu Restaurant Group failed to provide managers, shift lead employees, and employees who worked overnight shifts with meal breaks, then failed to pay them wages to account for those missed breaks.
Barajas claimed he worked as manager of a Sears home appliance showroom owned by the defendants. He said he could not leave the workplace for rest or meal breaks because the defendants had scheduled him as the only manager on duty.
The plaintiffs also claimed Marlu Restaurant Group failed to offer employees at defendants’ Jack in the Box locations the option of receiving payment in the form of a check, instead requiring them to accept payment on a paycard. They alleged employees who worked at cash register locations were not provided with proper seating.
Both of these wage and hour class action lawsuits were consolidated in December 2016. The parties negotiated a settlement, and Superior Court Judge William F. Highberger granted preliminary approval of the settlement in February 2017.
Under terms of this wage and hour class action settlement, Marlu Restaurant Group and the other defendants will pay a total of $2.5 million into a settlement fund. After covering fees, costs and other expenses related to the settlement, there will remain about $1.4 million to be distributed to an estimated 7,700 Class Members.
Marlu Restaurant Group continues to deny the plaintiffs’ allegations and has not admitted any fault by agreeing to this settlement. The court has made no determination as to liability.
Who’s Eligible
Class Members include persons who meet any of the following descriptions:
- Employed by a defendant company as an hourly employee in California from Nov. 7, 2013 through Feb. 9, 2017
- Employed by a defendant company as a General Manager in California from Nov. 7, 2010 through Feb. 9, 2017
- Employed by a defendant company as a Manager or a Shift Lead in California from Aug. 17, 2012 through Feb. 9, 2017
- Employed by a defendant company and worked any overnight shifts at any of a defendant company’s Jack-in-the-Box locations in California, during the period beginning Aug. 17, 2012 until Feb. 9, 2017
The defendant companies include:
- Marlu Restaurant Group Inc.
- Marlu Stockton LLC
- Prestige Management LLC
- Smart Management & Co. LLC
- Marlu LC Inc.
- Secret River Inc.
- Central Valley QSR Inc.
- G Maroni Company Inc.
- Caljax Inc.
- C Food Concepts Inc.
- Aksan United Fortune Inc.
- Cardinal Appliance and Hardware Inc.
- Marlu Pos LLC
- Maritime Management Company
- Marlu Investment Group
Potential Award
Varies.
Each Class Member’s settlement payment will be determined in part by the number of weeks the Class Member worked during the settlement period, the job the Class Member worked, and the number of valid and timely claims received.
Proof of Purchase
To receive benefits, Class Members must submit a vaild and timely Claim Form, either by mail or online.
Claim Form
Claim Form Deadline
6/2/2017
Case Name
Richard Barajas, et al. v. Marlu Restaurant Group Inc., et al. and Joe Ortiz v. Marlu Restaurant Group Inc., et al., Case No. SACV14-01790 DOC (DFMx), in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Final Hearing
7/14/2017
Settlement Website
Claims Administrator
Settlement of Marlu Restaurants Group, et al.
c/o KCC Class Action Services
P.O. Box 43463
Providence, RI 02940-3463
1-844-540-6005
Class Counsel
Allen Graves
Jacqueline Treu
THE GRAVES FIRM
Defense Counsel
Joshua D. Carlon
LEWIS BRISBOIS BISGAARD & SMITH LLP
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