Employee Accuses Gate Gourmet of California Wage and Hour Violation

A past employee claims that Gate Gourmet committed a California wage and hour violation for not giving sufficient breaks and failing to pay for all work done.

Plaintiff Shirley G. says that from February 2016 to October 2018 she was a full-time, non-exempt employee for Gate Gourmet, an airline catering company. She claims that during her time with Gate Gourmet, she was not paid all of the wages she was due because she and other employees were required to perform work outside of their shifts, and were not compensated for it.

She further claims that she and other employees didn’t receive sufficient rest breaks as required by California law. She also says that the company did not faithfully record her hours worked, recording and paying her for fewer hours than those she really worked.

Shirley says that she was financially injured by the company by being denied the wages she was due. She says that Gate Gourmet systematically denies wages and breaks to employees in a similar fashion. She seeks to hold Gate Gourmet accountable for allegedly violating California wage and hour law, and seeks to have the previously denied wages given to her and all similarly affected employees. She also seeks an injunction barring the company from allegedly continuing to deny workers wages.

Shirley says she worked as an Equipment Assembler, working to assemble all beverages, ice, condiments, and non-food items including cutlery, napkins, and linens for a flight.

According to the California wage and hour violations class action lawsuit, she and other employees were required to put on uniforms before clocking in, which included a hairnet and plastic garments. She says that she was not allowed to clock in before doing this, and was not compensated for it.

She also says that Gate Gourmet used a timekeeping system that “systematically shaved time off her actual time worked by rounding her timestamps to the quarter hour.” The California wage and hour class action lawsuit argues that this rounding was always in favor of Gate Gourmet, effectively recording less time than was actually worked. She argues this practice violates California labor law that requires employers to accurately record an employee’s time worked.

Shirley goes on to say that the company failed to pay overtime wages in accordance with California law, which requires a company to pay one-and-a-half times the regular pay rate for every hour worked over 40 in a regular work week. Despite classifying Shirley and similar employees as non-exempt from overtime, the company allegedly failed to pay the overtime.

She also says that the company required Shirley and other employees to work “portions of the day during which they were subject to [Gate Gourmet’s] control and failed to compensate them, failing to record these hours properly, and therefore failing to pay overtime wages for actual hours worked.

Shirley’s California wage and hour violation class action lawsuit goes on to argue that Gate Gourmet failed to provide adequate meal and rest breaks for employees, as required by California law, especially during long shifts.

The Gate Gourmet California Wage and Hour Violation Class Action Lawsuit is Case No. 2:19-cv-01075-PSG-MAA, in the Superior Court for the State of California, County of Los Angeles.

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