Facts

Denisha Johnson was employed as an hourly, nonexempt employee of Route 66 Post Acute LLC, a skilled nursing facility. Johnson worked as a dietary aid helping to make sure residents of the facility received the specific meals they needed to meet their nutritional requirements and dietary restrictions. No longer employed with Route 66, Johnson brought a wage and hour class and Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) representative action complaint against the skilled nursing facility.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff alleged that defendant failed to provide meal and rest breaks; failed to pay all wages owed; failed to provide accurate payroll records; were liable for waiting time penalties; and engaged in unfair competition. Specifically, plaintiff contended that defendant failed to maintain a compliant rest period policy and practice that provided its employees with off-duty rest periods as required by California law; plaintiff never received a rest break during the entire time she worked for defendant; and rest breaks were not permitted or provided. Plaintiff claimed that defendant failed to pay plaintiff all premium compensation (one hour of pay at the employee's regular rate of pay for missed or untimely rest periods) for these missed rest periods. As a derivative claim, plaintiff also alleged that her pay statements were inaccurate, failing to include required rest periods penalties, and thus failing the requirements under the Labor Code. Plaintiff contended that employer failed to maintain a compliant meal period policy and practice; failed to provide all of its hourly employees with their right to take an off-duty unpaid 30-minute first and second meal periods; and that, despite the consistent failure to provide or permit meal periods, plaintiff was only paid one meal period penalty during the entire time she was employed by defendant. Plaintiff also alleged that defendant willfully failed to pay plaintiff all penalty wages due and owing upon separation of employment. Plaintiff contended that defendant knowingly and intentionally failed to provide timely, accurate, itemized wage statements to plaintiff, and maintain accurate records.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant denied all contentions.

Result

The case settled for $400,000.