Edgeworth Client Wins California Meal Period Class Action

A class action filed in the Superior Court of California against a construction company alleged that employees had an hour deducted from their pay for meal periods they did not take. Dr. Deborah Foster and her team reviewed coded time records to identify shifts where meal period deductions occurred without a recorded meal period and determine whether recorded meal periods were compliant. For shifts where the meal period was deducted without a recorded meal, the value of that work time was calculated incorporating the California overtime requirements; shifts where the recorded meal period was not compliant were awarded the meal penalty of one hour of pay at the regular rate for the week. Dr. Foster submitted an expert report on behalf of plaintiffs demonstrating how damages could be calculated from the available data. Defendant’s motion to decertify the class was denied, and plaintiffs received a favorable settlement.