Facts

Plaintiffs brought a class and collective action on behalf of current and former car wash workers who are or were non-exempt employees of four defendant car washes.

Plaintiffs alleged various causes of action under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the California Labor Code, and California Business and Professions Code section 17200, relating to defendants' alleged failure to pay earned minimum and overtime wages and for other unlawful working conditions.

On March 2, 2009, the court ordered a stay of civil proceedings based on the fact that on Feb. 9, 2009, the Los Angeles City Attorney filed a criminal complaint against all defendants (The People of the State of California v. Benny Pirian, et al., L.A.S.C. Case No. 9CA01116) alleging allegations similar to those in the civil complaint.

On Aug. 19, 2010, the city attorney and each of the defendants entered stipulated settlements resolving the criminal action pursuant to defendants' pleas of no contest to certain criminal counts.

During the pendency of the stay, plaintiffs sought and obtained a conditional certification of a collective action under the FLSA (Aug. 10, 2010).

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs alleged that defendants engaged in a uniform practice and policy of failing to pay plaintiffs' wages for all hours worked, failing to pay minimum wages, failing to pay overtime wages, failing to provide meal breaks, failing to authorize and permit rest breaks, failing to pay reporting time premiums, failing to issue accurate wage stubs, failing to provide wages owed upon discharge, unlawfully compelling the purchase of uniforms, failing to keep accurate payroll records, unlawfully requiring employees to sign false time cards (thereby secretly paying a wage lower than the designated scale), and unlawfully failing to maintain accurate records of when employees begin and end meal periods.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendants disputed liability.

Result

The case settled for $1 million.

Other Information

FILING DATE: May 22, 2008.