Blue Apron Allegedly Violated California Work Break Laws and Labor Laws

A woman has filed a class action lawsuit alleging Blue Apron violated California work break laws.

Lead plaintiff Rashida F. alleges Blue Apron consistently made hourly employees clock out prior to their meal break, which caused employees to be shorted 30 minutes of pay each shift. The practice allegedly happened between 2014 and 2018, according to the lawsuit.

A minimum of 2,805 former and current employees are Class Members and the lawsuit could cost Blue Apron more than $5 million if California work break laws were violated.

Alleged Violations of California Work Break Laws

Rashida alleges Blue Apron violated California work break laws by requiring hourly employees to work more than four hours without a 10-minute rest period. California work break laws require a company pay an employee one hour at the regular rate of pay for each workday that a rest period is not provided. Blue Apron allegedly neglected to do so for at least four years prior to the filing of the lawsuit, the plaintiff says.

Rashida alleges Blue Apron “engaged in false, unfair, fraudulent and deceptive business practice” by not providing “all straight time and overtime wages owed, meal periods and rest periods, or compensation in lieu thereof, as mandated under the California Labor Code” for at least four years.

Rashida also alleges Blue Apron not only broke California work break laws but also failed to provide her and other hourly employees with accurate, itemized employee wage statements; failed to timely pay wages owed to employees upon termination; and willfully and deliberately denied straight time pay, overtime wages, rest periods and meal breaks on a routine basis.

Blue Apron is a meal preparation company that previously has run into regulatory trouble in California, where state regulators found various health and safety violations at the Richmond, Calif. meal-kit factory.

In addition, the UC Berkeley Labor Center released a report on Oct. 30, 2018, that said workers said serious issues included irregularities in their timesheets, unpredictable schedules, irregular supervision, and many health and safety concerns.

A recent job posting for a Grocery Associate position at the Richmond, Calif. location indicates an applicant must possess tremendous strength and stamina because the employee “must be able to lift up to 49 pounds repetitively with or without reasonable accommodation, must be able to handle exposure to temperatures that range from freezing to sub-freezing (coolers, freezers, etc.) with or without reasonable accommodation,” and “must be able to stand/walk for up to 10-12 hours with or without reasonable accommodation,” among the physical requirements.

The California Labor Code states that an employee who works more than 10 hours per day is to be provided a second 30-minute meal period.

Rashida alleges Blue Apron “had a pattern and practice of assigning too much work to be completed in too short of time frames, resulting in Plaintiff and those similarly situated not being able to take meal periods.”

Blue Apron was founded by Matt Salzberg, Ilia Papas and Matt Wadiak in 2012. The company became public in 2017 at $10 per share. Recent trading shows it at $1.10.

The California Work Break Laws Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-07000-LB in the Superior Court of the State of California in and for the County of Alameda.

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