This is not a typical “wage and hour” case with “mistakes” leading to the underpayment of employees. In this case, Defendants FUTURE ALLOYS and SHADROW intentionally underpaid Plaintiff throughout her employment. Defendants did so by: (A) changing the dates on invoices to avoid paying Plaintiff’s production bonuses; (B) misclassifying Plaintiff as exempt from overtime; (C) failing to pay all accrued and unused vacation time; (D) failing to provide timely/complete/uninterrupted meals and rest breaks; and (E) failing to reimburse Plaintiff for business expenses incurred performing her job duties.

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Defendants Altered Invoice Dates to Underpay Employees

During her employment Plaintiff was entitled to production bonuses, which were assessed on a company-wide basis. For example, and without knowledge of the specific numbers, if Defendant FUTURE ALLOYS billed in excess of $250,000 to its customers within a specified timeframe, employees would be entitled to additional pay in the form of “bonus hours.” However, Defendant SHADROW would direct Plaintiff to alter the dates on invoices to avoid paying these production bonuses. This resulted in Defendants SHADROW and FUTURE ALLOYS intentionally underpaying Plaintiff and other employees’ production bonuses.

 

Plaintiff was Misclassified as Exempt from Overtime

Defendants FUTURE ALLOYS and SHADROW hired Plaintiff in 2018 and classified her as an hourly-paid, non-exempt employee. Plaintiff worked “full time.” At some point during her employment Defendants improperly decided to make Plaintiff a salaried, exempt employee. Plaintiff did not qualify as an exempt employee because her job duties did not meet any of the exemptions specified in Wage Order 1, which applies to the manufacturing industry. As such, Plaintiff was underpaid for regular time, overtime, double-time, meal breaks and/or meal break premiums, and rest breaks and/or rest break premiums.

 

Failing to Pay all Accrued but Unused Vacation Time

Defendant FUTURE ALLOYS maintained a vacation policy whereby “[a]ll employees are entitled to time off for scheduled vacation as follows: [1] After 1 year of continuous full time employment [-] 1 week paid[;] [2] After 2 years of continuous full time employment [-] 2 weeks paid[; and] After 5 years of continuous full time employment [-] 3 weeks paid.” As such, Plaintiff had approximately seven (7) weeks of accrued but unused vacation time upon her constructive discharge in July 11, 2022 (four years of accumulated vacation). Defendants FUTURE ALLOYS and SHADROW did not provide Plaintiff’s accrued but unused vacation time upon her constructive discharge at her final rate of pay. Relatedly, Defendants FUTURE ALLOYS and SHADROW forced Plaintiff to use her accrued vacation time for COVID-19 related paid sick leave, which is unlawful and therefore additional vacation time is owed to Plaintiff.

 

Failing to Provide Pay for All Hours Worked

Defendants FUTURE ALLOYS and SHADROW failed to compensate Plaintiff for all hours worked, missed meal periods, and/or missed rest breaks. Defendants did so through their unlawful employment practices including, but not limited to, requiring Plaintiff and other non-exempt employees to work off-the-clock, failing to provide meal and rest period premiums, failing to relieve Plaintiff of all duties during her state-mandated meal and rest periods, and failing to reimburse Plaintiff for business expenses (mileage).

 

Failing to Reimburse Business Expenses

Defendants FUTURE ALLOYS and SHADROW failed to provide compensation all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by Plaintiff in direct consequence of the discharge of her duties. Specifically, Plaintiff was not reimbursed for the business use of her personal vehicle.

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Defendant SHADROW and Sales Manager Joe Jansen were employers or other persons acting on behalf of the employer, who violated, or caused to be violated, provisions regulating minimum wages or hours and days of work issued by the Industrial Welfare Commission.

 

Defendants FUTURE ALLOYS and SHADROW had the authority to hire and terminate Plaintiff; to set work rules and conditions governing Plaintiff’s employment; and to supervise her daily employment activities.

 

Defendants FUTURE ALLOYS and SHADROW directly hired and paid wages and benefits to Plaintiff, and controlled Plaintiff in her day-to-day activities at the FUTURE ALLOYS facility.

 

Plaintiff worked over eight (8) hours in a day, and/or forty (40) hours in a week during her employment with Defendants.

 

Plaintiff’s initial rate of pay was $16.00 per hour. After being misclassified as exempt from overtime, Plaintiff’s salary was approximately the equivalent of $31.45 an hour.

 

Plaintiff is informed and believes, and based thereon alleges, that Defendants knew or should have known that Plaintiff was entitled to receive certain wages for overtime compensation and that she was not receiving wages for overtime compensation.

 

Plaintiff is informed and believes, and based thereon alleges, that Defendants failed to provide Plaintiff the required rest and meal periods during the relevant time period as required under the Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders and thus she is entitled to any and all applicable penalties.

 

Plaintiff is informed and believes, and based thereon alleges, that Defendants knew or should have known that Plaintiff was entitled to receive all timely and complete meal periods or payment of one additional hour of pay at Plaintiff’s regular rate of pay when a meal period was missed, late or interrupted, and she did not receive all timely and proper meal periods or payment of one additional hour of pay at her regular rate of pay when a meal period was missed.

 

Plaintiff is informed and believes, and based thereon alleges, that Defendants knew or should have known that Plaintiff was entitled to receive all timely rest periods without interruption or payment of one additional hour of pay at Plaintiff’s regular rate of pay when a rest period was missed, late or interrupted, and she did not receive all rest periods or payment of one additional hour of pay at her regular rate of pay when a rest period was missed.

 

Plaintiff is informed and believes, and based thereon alleges, that Defendants knew or should have known that Plaintiff was entitled to receive the wages owed to them upon discharge or resignation, including overtime and minimum wages and meal and rest period premiums, and Plaintiff did not, in fact, receive such wages owed to her at the time of her discharge or resignation.

 

Plaintiff is informed and believes, and based thereon alleges, that Defendants knew or should have known that Plaintiff was entitled to receive complete and accurate wage statements in accordance with California law, but, in fact, did not receive complete and accurate wage statements from Defendants. The deficiencies included, inter alia, the failure to include the total number of hours worked by Plaintiff.

 

Plaintiff is informed and believes, and based thereon alleges, that Defendants knew or should have known that they had a duty to compensate Plaintiff, and that Defendants had the financial ability to pay such compensation, but willfully, knowingly, and intentionally failed to do so, and falsely represented to Plaintiff that she was properly paid wages.

 

As a pattern and practice, during the relevant time period set forth herein, Defendants failed to pay overtime wages to Plaintiff for all hours worked. Plaintiff was required to work more than eight (8) hours per day and/or forty (40) hours per week without overtime compensation. 

 

As a pattern and practice, during the relevant time period set forth herein, Defendants failed to provide the requisite uninterrupted and timely meal and rest periods to Plaintiff.

 

As a pattern and practice, during the relevant time period set forth herein, Defendants failed to pay Plaintiff wages for all hours worked.

 

As a pattern and practice, during the relevant time period set forth herein, Defendants failed to pay Plaintiff the wages owed to her upon discharge.

 

As a pattern and practice, during the relevant time period set forth herein, Defendant failed to provide complete or accurate wage statements to Plaintiff.

 

As a pattern and practice, during the relevant time period set forth herein, Defendants failed to keep complete or accurate payroll records for Plaintiff.

 

As a pattern and practice, during the relevant time period set forth herein, Defendants failed to properly compensate Plaintiff pursuant to California law in order to increase Defendants’ profits.