Chanel Workers Seek Class Cert in Calif. Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit

A group of Chanel employees are seeking class certification against the famous high-end fashion brand alleging it owes its shipping department workers unpaid overtime pay.

“The proposed class has a mutual interest in ensuring that all employees are paid for all hours worked, including overtime hours worked, and the individual interest in recovering damages owed is wholly aligned with the mutual interest,” the plaintiffs stated in their motion for class certification. “Class adjudication of all claims concurrently is clearly the most efficient, superior method to resolve classwide claims.”

Lead plaintiffs, Christian Luna, Anthony Hernandez and Javier Delgado, who work for Chanel’s Rodeo Drive Beverly Hills boutique, originally filed the unpaid overtime class action lawsuit in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles.

Luna claimed in her wage and hour class action lawsuit that the luxury fashion company violated California’s wage and labor laws and its unfair competition law by failing to pay overtime and provide breaks for shipping employees, failing to provide required adequate wages, not providing accurate payroll records and engaging in unlawful business practices for unfair competition, according to the unpaid overtime class action lawsuit.

According to the unpaid overtime proposed class action, the employees worked a fixed schedule from 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., along with pre-and post-shift duties five days a week without overtime pay, but were only directed to record their fixed scheduled hours on a manual punch time card.

Additionally, the plaintiffs who seek to represent all shipping department employees across Chanel’s stores in America who believe they were prohibited from taking breaks during work hours.

“Plaintiffs were clearly arriving early for work, and staying after 6 p.m. to do more work in the store,” the Chanel class action lawsuit says.

Plaintiffs seek unspecified compensatory and exemplary damages, unpaid overtime wages, penalties, a preliminary and permanent injunction requiring Chanel to pay all back wages, give meal and rest breaks, and provide and maintain proper payroll records, for the class period, July 2011 through the trial date.

While the Chanel unpaid overtime lawsuit was first filed back in July in Los Angeles Superior Court, Chanel filed an amended complaint to include allegations the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and California labor laws and had the case moved to federal court in December. Additionally, Chanel approximated that damages could exceed $75,000, the minimum for a federal class action.

California Overtime Laws

Under California labor law, nonexempt employees are required to be paid overtime if they work beyond eight hours in any workday or more than six days in any workweek.

The overtime rate should be paid at not less than one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of eight hours up to and including twelve hours in any workday, and for the first eight hours worked on the seventh consecutive workday in a workweek.

If an employee works in excess of twelve hours in any workday or works in excess of eight hours on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek, he or she must be paid double the regular rate of pay for those excess hours.

If you are employed in California and feel that your employer has violated a state or federal employment law, you may qualify for damages that may be awarded in a possible unpaid overtime class action lawsuit.

The Chanel Unpaid Overtime Class Action Lawsuit is Cristian Luna et al v. Chanel, Inc. et al, Case No. 2:15-cv-09541, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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