In a striking legal move, a class action lawsuit has been filed against a prominent dairy company for alleged widespread labor violations. The complaint, lodged by Luis Salinas in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara on September 20, 2024, targets J & D Wilson & Sons Dairy, LP.
Luis Salinas, representing himself and other similarly situated employees, accuses J & D Wilson & Sons Dairy of multiple breaches of the California Labor Code. The allegations include failure to pay minimum and overtime wages, denial of meal and rest periods, improper business expense indemnification, delayed final wage payments upon termination, and issuance of inaccurate wage statements. Salinas claims these violations were systematic and company-wide practices that affected numerous employees over an extended period.
Salinas worked for the dairy from November 2023 to April 2024 and alleges that during this time he was not compensated for all hours worked. He recounts instances where he had to wait in line off-the-clock to clock in, received work-related calls outside working hours without compensation, and had meal breaks interrupted or cut short due to work demands. Furthermore, he asserts that nondiscretionary bonuses were not factored into the calculation of overtime pay rates.
The lawsuit also highlights how J & D Wilson & Sons Dairy allegedly failed to provide timely and duty-free meal periods as required by law. Employees were often required to work beyond five consecutive hours without receiving a proper meal break or additional compensation for missed breaks. Similarly, rest periods were either not authorized or permitted within the legally mandated timeframes.
Salinas contends that the company also neglected to reimburse necessary business expenses such as personal protective equipment (PPE) purchases and usage of personal cell phones for work purposes. Additionally, upon termination of employment, employees did not receive their final wages promptly as stipulated by California law.
The complaint further details how J & D Wilson & Sons Dairy issued inaccurate wage statements that failed to reflect true hours worked and correct wages earned. This lack of transparency led employees to believe they were being paid correctly when they were not.
Salinas seeks various forms of relief from the court including unpaid wages with interest, liquidated damages for minimum wage violations, statutory penalties for delayed final wage payments, reimbursement for business expenses incurred by employees without indemnification from the employer, and attorney's fees along with litigation costs. He also requests injunctive relief to prevent future violations by the defendants.
Representing Salinas are attorneys Kane Moon and Allen Feghali from Moon Law Group PC. The case is being overseen by Judge Y. Chavez under Case No.: 24CV447643.