Facts

Hyatt furloughed/temporarily laid off thousands of its workers in California when the pandemic started in 2020. Hyatt advised employees they could be out of work for eight to twelve weeks but did not commit to a specific return to work date. Hyatt offered to pay out portions of the employees' accrued vacation time and paid time off upon request. Hyatt continued to provide cost-free health insurance coverage and access to the complimentary hotel room
program, which provided full-time and part-time employees a certain amount of free hotel stays per year. About three months after the layoffs, Hyatt terminated most of the furloughed employees. Karen Hartstein was a former employee at Hyatt, and she brought a class action against Hyatt for violation of employment laws.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS: Plaintiffs contended that Hyatt failed to pay overtime, to pay all wages due up on termination, and to provide correct wage statements. Plaintiffs also alleged unfair business practices under the Private Attorneys General Act. The plaintiff class also contended that the layoffs qualified as discharges under state labor law. The plaintiff class also argued that the hotel room bonus was a "wage" that the court could consider as a factor in computing overtime pay.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendants denied all contentions. Defendants also contended that state labor laws did not support the former employees' requests for unpaid overtime or hotel room bonuses.

Result

The case was dismissed with prejudice.

Other Information

Plaintiffs have appealed the dismissal.