Memorial Services Case Settles Claims of Violation of California Work Laws

Employees claiming violations of California work laws have now seen their case reach the settlement stage with their employer, a funeral company. The California work laws employment lawsuit was filed against NorthStar Memorial Group Shared Services LLC as a class action. Workers argued that the funeral home operators were in violation of California labor law.

According to the workers who brought the suit, wages were illegally cut to cover commissions and employees did not receive proper reimbursement for business expenses. In total, 429 different workers are affected by the proposed settlement, which is under review with a judge.

If the deal is approved, each of those workers would receive around $5,000 from the $2.2 million settlement. NorthStar provides burial product purchases to consumers, and many of those sales are made by employees covered by this class action suit.

The workers argued that they should have been paid commissions weekly as nonexempt employees. Instead, the company allegedly implemented a quota system that assigned each worker points. If a worker failed to meet the proper quota, they claimed, points were docked and the commissions were not paid out, even if that same worker had put in 40 hours that week.

Workers also argued that a routine part of their employment involved using their personal vehicles to visit burial plots, but that they were never reimbursed for this. The defense had argued against the strength of the reimbursement claims over the course of mediation in the months leading up to the settlement offer.

The workers, in response to the settlement claim being submitted for approval, indicated that they would be amending their claims for breach of contract, minimum wage issues, and intentional misrepresentation fraud. The suit was originally filed in California state court in 2018, but was later removed to federal court according to Law360.

California Law on Work Expense Reimbursement

California has some of the strictest laws that protect employees, including mandates that employers have to reimburse workers for business expenses. When the worker is carrying out employer directives or job duties, the employer must reimburse that worker for all necessary losses or expenditures incurred. Failure to do so can lead to class action lawsuits.

Even though federal law does not require that an employer reimburse a worker for vehicle expenses like mileage, California law requires this. California employers have to pay a worker for anything other than normal commuting when that employee is using their own vehicle to carry out work tasks. This includes getting to and from job sites and running errands related to work.

Currently, an employer has to reimburse for these vehicle expenses, but can choose from one of a few methods in order to do this. Mileage reimbursement is most popular, but an employer can also use actual expense or lump sum reimbursement. No matter what method is selected, an employer should have their individual expense reimbursement policy outlined in their employee handbook and manual.

The California Work Laws lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-01039, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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