A California man alleges that Target violated wage and hour laws by failing to allow for meal breaks, pay overtime, or keep accurate records and provide itemized wage statements to Target warehouse workers.
Lead plaintiff Joshua Loughrie alleges in the Target wage and hour lawsuit that during his 12 years employed with the retailer, the company continually violated wage and hours laws, including;
- Failure to pay straight and overtime compensation;
- Failure to provide meal periods;
- Failure to provide rest breaks;
- Failure to provide itemized wage statements;
- Failure to keep accurate payroll records;
- Failure to pay waiting time penalties; and
- Unlawful business practices
The Target wage and hour lawsuit alleges that the plaintiff worked at the retailer’s distribution center in Fontana, Calif. as a non-exempt hourly employee. Initially, says the plaintiff, he and other non-exempt workers were not paid for overtime work. Additionally, when employees clocked in, Target allegedly rounded their start time up, although they were required to be at work approximately 20 minutes before their start time.
The plaintiff alleges that as a “Warehouse Worker” with Target, he and others were generally required to work 12-hour shifts, 6:00 am until 6:00 pm or 6:00 pm until 6:00 am; however, workers were required to show up early.
“As there are several hundred employees who all arrive at the same time to start their shift, Representative Plaintiff was required to stand in a long line to wait to enter Defendants’ Distribution Warehouse facility,” contends the Target wage and hour lawsuit. “Once inside the Distribution Facility, Representative Plaintiff and putative class members were required to pass through metal detectors and other security measures and to have their personal belongings inspected. Alter waiting in line, and going through Defendants’ security measures, Representative Plaintiff was then required to walk a distance that took him approximately 5-10 minutes to Defendants’ time clock where he would promptly clock-in and begin his workday.”
The retailer allegedly further failed to provide the plaintiff and other Target warehouse workers meal and rest breaks as required under law. According to the Target wage and hour lawsuit, the State of California requires companies to provide workers a 10-minute break for every four hours worked along with a one hour break each full work day. In addition, employees who work over ten hours are entitled to a second meal break.
The Target wage and hour lawsuit also alleges that the company failed to record and provide an accounting for bonuses and shift differentials both in their own records and in wage statements provided to employees. Target also failed to incorporate bonuses and shift differentials when calculating overtime pay.
The plaintiff seeks to represent classes of employees based on Target’s alleged violations of California employment law. For violations of State employment laws, the Target wage and hour lawsuit is seeking compensatory damages, wages, and penalties against the retailer. The plaintiff is also seeking a court order requiring Target to come into compliance with California employment law.
Companies need to be held responsible when they violate workers’ rights by skirting employment laws. The California employment attorneys at Bradley/Grombacher are investigating wage and hour claims. Fill out the form on this page for a FREE and confidential case evaluation.
Bradley/Grombacher did not represent the plaintiff in this lawsuit.
