Hollywood Park Casino is facing a representative action lawsuit for allegedly violating California labor laws.
The suit, filed by plaintiff Irving Murillo Garcia, purportedly on behalf of the state of California and all aggrieved employees, accuses the Inglewood casino of shorting worker pay and cutting short meal periods, among other alleged violations.
The defendants in the case include Hollywood Park Casino Company LLC; WM Hollywood Park Casino JV LLC; Hollywood Park Casino Security Company LP; and other unidentified potential defendants.
The lawsuit was filed under California's Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), which allows employees to stand in place of California state labor officials to press lawsuits in pursuit of civil penalties for alleged violations of the state's labor code.
The law has long been controversial, as critics have asserted it amounts to a windfall generator for law firms, who are allowed to claim potentially millions in attorney fees from such actions, while generating comparatively few real benefits for workers. The state of California receives 75% of all penalties paid by by companies targeted by such PAGA actions.
In 2023, nearly 8,000 PAGA lawsuits were filed against employers in California, further fueling calls to reform the law. In November, California voters will be presented with a ballot initiative to reform the law, to reduce the ability of lawyers to generate such profit windfalls from such lawsuits.
The case was filed Feb. 8 in San Francisco County Superior Court.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Jamie Serb, Brandon Brouillette and Zachary M. Crosner, of Crosner Legal, of Beverly Hills.