Host International Agrees to $2.2 Million Wage and Hour Settlement for California Workers

A $2.2 million wage and hour settlement has been reached in a California case involving airport restaurant and retail service workers.

Staffing company Host International Inc. was facing four lawsuits that alleged the company made employees work off the clock, pay for non-reimbursed business expenses and work without meal or rest breaks. As a result of the latter, Host International also was accused of not providing the employees with accurate and proper wage statements.

Host International and a proposed Class of employees filed a joint motion for preliminary approval of the wage and hour settlement. If approved, each Class Member will receive a little more than $225, according to the motion.

The motion says that each Class Member is a nonexempt worker employed by Host International in the state of California from April 25, 2013, until the date the settlement receives preliminary approval.

California Wage and Hour Settlement Details

Host International is not the first corporation to settle similar claims – Pharmavite and Medifit also settled California wage and hour claims.

According to the motion, “Through this settlement, class members will not have to wait (possibly years) for relief, nor will they have to bear the risk of class certification being denied or of defendant prevailing at trial.”

The motion also recognized that Host International had denied any liability and would have continued that stand if litigation had continued. Without the wage and hour settlement, the plaintiffs risked possibly receiving nothing.

According to the proposed agreement, Class Members will share a little more than $1.3 million. The proposed class counsel is requesting one-third of the wage and hour settlement, which amounts to about $733,000. The remaining funds breakdown into: administrative costs estimated at $29,000; $15,000 to the California Private Attorneys General Act; one named plaintiff will receive a $14,000 service award; and the other four named plaintiffs each will receive $5,000 service awards.

California Labor Laws

California offers some of the best protections for workers, above and beyond those of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

According to the state of California’s Department of Industrial Relations Department, an employer must provide an employee with a minimum 30-minute meal break if the employee works more than five hours per day. The only exception is if the total work period is no more than six hours and both the employer and the employee agree the meal period may be waived.

If an employer requires the employee to remain on the business’s premises during the meal break, that employee must be paid for the meal period time even if the employee is relieved of all work duties. The reason payment is required is that the employee is still under the control of the employer when the employee is not allowed to leave the premises.

Under federal and California labor law, employees also are permitted a 10-minute paid rest period for every four hours worked. The rest period should be given around the middle of the work period.

According to California law, a meal break claim must be filed within three years of the alleged meal period violation.

Like many other wage and hour claims, Host International, according to plaintiffs, violated the Federal Labor Standards Act as well as California Labor Codes.

The Wage and Hour Settlement Lawsuit is Case No. 3:17-cv-03069, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Join a Free California Wage & Hour Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were forced to work off the clock or without overtime pay within the past 3 years in California, you have rights – and you don’t have to take on the company alone.

Get a Free Case Evaluation Now