AutoZone Trying to Decertify California Break Laws Class

AutoZone is using a California federal court to decertify a Class of workers alleging the company violated California break laws and were not paid for off the clock work.

AutoZone argues the class certification is without merit due to the diversity of the workers’ alleged experiences and claims there is no proof whether or not the class members were able to take breaks.

The Class currently consists of 20,000 members and was certified in late 2012, with AutoZone pointing out the concern the court has since had over the manageability of the claims.

The court has been especially concerned over the fact there “is no common answer” of whether or not the employees were allowed breaks required under California labor laws.

AutoZone further argues that no evidence has been gathered which shows the company violated California breaks laws by denying employees of their rest periods. In addition, AutoZone asserts there is no evidence of any company-wide policy that systematically denied workers their breaks.

Overview of California Break Law Violations

According to AutoZone’s motion to decertify, the Class had been reportedly relying on unspecific language of the company, specifically describing the company’s break policy.

AutoZone argued this was not enough to create commonality between class members, and there there has been no proof that breaks showed were not given or denied.

Under California break laws, employees are entitled to 30 minutes meal break and rest period every five hours and must be compensated for any missed breaks on their next paycheck.

“There is no common evidence of when rest breaks were scheduled or when there were taken, or why they were or were not taken, without individual inquiry of every single class member. When all the evidence is considered, it is clear that this action cannot be tried as a class action because individual — not common — issues predominate and a class action is not superior under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b),” AutoZone said.

The parties have been going through discovery since the Class last amended their claim in May 2015. Previously, AutoZone tried to decertify the Class in 2013, stating many of the class members had actually taken breaks.

U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer denied this motion in August 2013, stating that not all class members had to be employees who never took a rest period.

The certified Class alleging AutoZone violated California breaks laws was filed back in June 2010, when the U.S. Judicial Panel Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) consolidated four federal cases in California.

Each of these complaints alleged AutoZone violated California labor laws by denying breaks, not compensating for working off the clock, and overtime violations.

Judge Breyer  certified the class of “gray shirt” AutoZone employees in December 2012, who worked under “red shirt” AutoZone managers that were allegedly denied rest periods.

However, Judge Breyer denied certification to AutoZone employees who claimed they were not reimbursed for the expenses incurred from using their personal vehicles. Other expenses included work-related travel, working off the clock with no pay, and denied meal breaks.

A hearing for the decertification motion has been set for June 17, 2016, where both parties will present their arguments.

The AutoZone Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuit is In Re: AutoZone, Inc., Wage and Hour Employment Practices Litigation, Case No. 3:10-md-02159, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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