$2M California Wage and Hour Settlement Granted for Pharmavite Employees

Pharmavite, a California dietary supplement company, has recently agreed to a $1.9 million California wage and hour settlement to resolve issues regarding rest and lunch breaks with about 1,000 employees.

Pharmavite, based in Northern California, was founded in 1971. They are a dietary supplement manufacturer that offers vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements through their two brands, Nature Made and FoodState.

Recently, a California judge granted preliminary approval to a California wage and hour settlement for $1.9 million that would resolve wage and break claims for a Class of about 1,000 Pharmavite employees.

The original wage and hour lawsuit was filed in 2015 by lead plaintiff Kevin A. Herrera. He alleges that he and other workers were not paid their fair wages because they did not receive their required breaks and were not paid for the time they spent donning and doffing their uniforms. They were required to put on their uniforms before they clocked in and remove them after the clocked out, Herrera’s lawsuit claims.

Above and beyond the allegations that Pharmavite did not pay employees for time spent donning and doffing uniforms, the lawsuit also alleges that the company provided inaccurate wage statements and accuses Pharmavite of untimely payment of wages after an employee had left the company.

The most recent issue was to define differences within the Class and why certain employees would get a four-fold settlement share and others would not.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl recently asked why the class members who wore a full uniform, including shirt and pants, would see their share of the California wage and hour settlement increased to four times that of other class members.

Allegedly, it was not only because of the fact that employees had to don and doff their full uniforms before and after work, but also that they had to wait in long lines for the changing rooms. Some employees were required only to put on a lab coat over their clothes they came to work in, and others were required to completely change their clothes.

The changing room lines, the attorney for the plaintiff noted, caused workers to add more time to their off-the-clock time at work. “The full uniform requires the use of the changing rooms, which back up and cause a line, which would increase the time. Whereas if you were not wearing a full uniform, a lot of them were just wearing a lab coat, you could put the lab coat on over your clothes,” the attorney said during the hearing.

Employees were also required to use their break and lunch times to don and doff uniforms, cutting into their times for required breaks.

The judge granted the request for full-uniformed employees’ shares of the California wage and hour settlement to be multiplied by four because of the extra time they had spent waiting in line and donning and doffing uniforms.

This California wage and hour settlement request also asks that the attorneys’ cut be increased to one-third, about $650,000.

This California Wage and Hour Lawsuit is Kevin A. Herrera v. Pharmavite LLC, Case No. BC599201, in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles.

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