Policy-deficient employer defeats wage and hour class certification

California employers are constantly at risk of facing potential litigation over basic timekeeping and wage and hour practices, primarily because of the complexity of the numerous applicable laws and the attorneys’ fees incentives available for attorneys who pursue class action claims. In a recent case, a small employer that actually had very limited written policies covering the practices typically included in wage and hour class action litigation was able to defeat class certification because it didn’thave specific written policies or implementation practices.

Facts

American Scissor Lift, Inc. (ASL), rents out heavy machinery equipment. It has four locations: West Sacramento, Stockton, Morgan Hill, and El Cajon. Jason Cirrincione worked for ASL at its Stockton location as a nonexempt hourly employee performing duties such as painting rental equipment and welding, sanding, cleaning, assembling, and delivering equipment. In April 2018, he filed a class action lawsuit against the company primarily based on its timekeeping practices involving the rounding of start and stop times and failure to track meal and rest periods.

The lawsuit asserted the typical wage and hour class action claims, including failure to pay overtime wages, comply with minimum wage obligations, provide proper meal and rest breaks (or premium pay), reimburse for expenses (personal cell phones, vehicles, and work tools), and improper compensation at termination. The class action purported to include approximately 50 similarly situated current and former employees spread across ASL’s four facilities.