In a significant legal move, an individual has filed a lawsuit against a prominent engineering corporation, alleging severe labor law violations. On September 19, 2024, Johnathan Shoulders lodged a complaint in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, accusing Achievement Engineering Corp of multiple infractions including failure to pay overtime wages and failure to reimburse business expenses.
According to the complaint, Shoulders has been employed by Achievement Engineering Corp since May 9, 2022, as a Quality Assurance Inspector/Building Inspector. His responsibilities included ensuring quality standards for the company's engineering projects. Initially hired at an hourly rate of $35.00, which later increased to $45.00, Shoulders claims he was classified as a non-exempt employee and did not manage other employees. The terms of his employment were clearly outlined in his offer letter which included benefits such as paid vacation and holidays, health insurance, and travel reimbursement for distances exceeding 50 miles from Fontana, CA.
Despite these terms, Shoulders alleges that since April 15, 2024, he has regularly worked more than eight hours per day and over forty hours per week without receiving appropriate overtime compensation. He states that he often worked between sixteen to twenty-hour days but was not paid the legally required one-and-a-half times his regular rate for overtime or double time for shifts exceeding twelve hours. Specifically, from April 15 to July 12, 2024, Shoulders claims he accrued approximately one hundred hours of unpaid overtime at one-and-a-half times his regular rate and sixty-six point seventy-five hours at double his regular rate.
Additionally, Shoulders contends that he used his personal vehicle for work-related travel but was reimbursed at only $0.30 per mile instead of the IRS standard mileage rate of $0.67 per mile. This under-reimbursement is another focal point of his lawsuit against Achievement Engineering Corp.
The plaintiff asserts that despite bringing these issues to the attention of his immediate manager Ali Tahmasbi in May 2024 and subsequently emailing HR and Payroll in July 2024 for clarification on overtime pay discrepancies—only to be told they were "following the laws"—no corrective action was taken by the company. Furthermore, Shoulders claims he filed complaints both verbally and in writing with HR and the President of the company without any resolution.
Shoulders argues that these actions constitute willful violations of several California labor laws including Labor Code §510 (overtime pay) and §2802 (expense reimbursement). He also accuses Achievement Engineering Corp of engaging in unfair business practices under California Business and Professions Code §17200 et seq., thereby gaining an unfair competitive advantage over law-abiding employers.
As relief from the court, Shoulders seeks general damages including past and future lost earnings due to unpaid wages and inadequate expense reimbursements; compensatory damages for emotional distress; punitive damages; interest on lost wages; costs incurred during litigation; and any other relief deemed just by the court.
Representing Johnathan Shoulders are attorneys Joshua I. White and Lilit Gasparyan from Laurel Employment Law. The case is being overseen by Judge B. Roman-Antunez under Case ID: 24CV447704.