Universal Studios class action alleges company failed to pay workers proper wages

Universal Studios wages class action overview: 

• Who: A former Universal Studios employee is suing the company.
• Why: He says Universal systematically underpaid its workers in California.
• Where: The Universal Studios wages class action was filed in a California federal court.

A former employee is suing Universal Studios over allegations that he and other employees were systematically underpaid and denied basic wage protections under California labor laws.

Plaintiff Andrew Lawrence filed the class action complaint in a California federal court against Universal City Studios LLC, Universal Studios Hollywood and several individuals, alleging widespread wage and labor violations against current and former non-exempt hourly employees in California. 

The lawsuit alleges that Universal Studios employees were required to perform tasks before and after their shifts, such as waiting for parking, passing through security, and discussing work activities with managers, without being compensated for this time. 

These pre- and post-shift duties allegedly contributed to off-the-clock work, a violation of California’s labor laws, Lawrence states. 

Additionally, employees were reportedly required to monitor emails about work schedules on their personal devices outside of work hours, further adding to the alleged unpaid work burden.

The complaint also accuses Universal Studios of denying employees their legally required meal and rest breaks. Workers were often forced to work through their breaks or take shortened ones due to job demands, Lawrence says. The company allegedly failed to compensate employees with premium pay when these breaks were missed or interrupted.

Universal Studios’ method of rounding hours impacted employee compensation, lawsuit says

One of the central claims of the lawsuit is that Universal Studios had a policy of unlawfully rounding employee work hours to the nearest quarter-hour or half-hour, which resulted in underpayment of wages. 

According to the complaint, these rounding practices were implemented in a way that consistently undercut the actual time worked by employees, reducing their overall compensation.

Employees were allegedly directed to report rounded time rather than the exact hours they worked, which was then entered into Universal Studios’ payroll system, leading to inaccuracies in wage statements and paychecks.

The lawsuit also alleges that Universal Studios failed to pay overtime wages as required by law. Employees were reportedly not compensated at the correct overtime rate when they worked over eight hours in a day or more than 40 hours in a week. The company also failed to provide accurate wage statements that reflected the true hours worked, contributing to additional wage violations.

Lawrence seeks to represent 11 subclasses of workers who worked as nonexempt employees in California for the company over the past four years, and who were not properly paid their wages. He’s suing for violations of the California Labor Code and seeks certification of the class action, recovery of unpaid wages, overtime, and damages, fees, costs and a jury trial as well as an end to Universal Studios’ alleged unlawful labor practices.

In 2019, Universal Studios was hit with a class action lawsuit claiming that the amusement parks failed to follow through on their day of free refills with souvenir cups.

What do you think of the allegations in this Universal Studios wages class action? Let us know in the comments.

Lawrence is represented by Emil Davtyan, David Yeremian, Natalie Haritoonian and Matthew J. Carraher of D.Law Inc. 

The Universal Studios wages class action is Andrew Lawrence v. Universal City Studios LLC et al., Case No. 24STCV23912, in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles.

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