Alleged California Employment Law Violations Spark New Class Action

A new plaintiff has alleged State of California employment law violations in a class action lawsuit filed on Jan. 9, 2018 in a federal court in California.

Plaintiff Daniel M. is a former employee of the City of Ceres, California—named defendant in this case. When he worked for the defendant, a public municipality of the State, he worked in the capacity of Senior Water Distribution Operator.

The dates of this employ were from July 1989 to August 2017. The plaintiff, who seeks to represent a class of similarly situated individuals, is a citizen and resident of the State of California.

The plaintiff’s allegation of California employment law violations center around the recovery of unpaid overtime and other compensation from the City of Ceres.

His state law claim, as referenced in the narrative of this California employment law violations lawsuit, refers to administrative fees withheld from paychecks purportedly for employee benefits not forthcoming. State of California employment law violations of full wage payment are under a statute of limitations extending three years.

Daniel hopes to address in this lawsuit the question of whether the City’s deductions of said administrative fees amounts to California employment law violations concerning salary and wage non-payment.

Daniel seeks to bring three causes of action against defendant City of Ceres, Calif. The first action seeks collective relief in the form of compensatory and liquidated damages from the municipality for alleged California employment law violations.

The California employment law violations lawsuit narrative refers to a cafeteria health plan offered by the City through which employees could choose the most appropriate medical insurance offering for their life situation.

In the cafeteria plan, depending upon the employee’s insurance choice, there was the possibility of a gap between plan cost and premium withheld from paycheck in the employee’s favor.

If that occurred, purported municipal policy was to refund this portion less a 10 percent charge for administrative costs. The rebated money was subject to tax withholding as part of regular wages but was not considered for determining regular rate of pay for the purposes of calculating overtime compensation.

Daniel argues the exclusion of these rebated funds from the regular rate of pay improperly lowered overtime wages, which by the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) should be one and one-half times the regular rate. The action hopes to reclaim overtime wages that would have been paid if the calculation of this regular rate had been appropriate.

The second cause of action in this lawsuit concerns declarative relief. Plaintiff Daniel wishes that the court would settle the matter regarding the legality of purported overtime calculation method of the City of Ceres under the FLSA.

He, under the counsel of his attorney, feel this is a necessary step in helping Class Members determine their rights versus the duties of the employer.

The final cause of action in this lawsuit concerns alleged California employment law violations regarding deductions from employees’ paychecks. This practice is allegedly against state law except in very unusual circumstances and, especially in lieu of 10 percent fee for rebate, purportedly amounts to a ‘secret’ method of withholding earned income.

The California Employment Laws Violation Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-00041-DAD-BAM in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California.

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