A class action lawsuit accuses a Bay Area veterans support organization of shorting its workers pay, including requiring them to undergo Covid screening off the clock.
The group, Swords to Plowshares, "as a condition of employment, required these employees to submit to mandatory temperature checks and symptom questionnaires for Covid-19 screening prior to clocking into defendant's timekeeping system for the workday," says the lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court.
The group also denied employees rest and meal breaks, which are required by California law, the suit says.
It also accuses Swords to Plowshares of failing to provide employees with accurate wage statements, the plaintiffs alleged.
"The wage statements failed to identify the accurate total hours worked each pay period," the suit states. "When the hours shown on the wage statements were added up, they did not equal the actual total hours worked during the pay period."
The organization also underpaid employees for sick leave, according to the suit. It also claims that employees were not reimbursed for business.
Employees allegedly were not paid for time they spent responding to work matters off the clock on their own personal cell phones, or reimbursed for the cost of their phones, despite the device being used for work, according to the complaint.
Employees were also denied "suitable seating" when sitting did not interfere with their work, which the lawsuit alleges is required under California labor law.
The lawsuit seeks up to $4,000 for each employee, plus legal fees and court costs.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Norman B. Blumenthal and Nicholas J. De Blouw, of Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP.
Williams et al v. Swords to Plowshares, San Franciso Superior Court, CGC-23-608674