In a striking legal move, a former employee has filed a class action lawsuit against a prominent beauty supply distributor, alleging multiple violations of California labor laws. Tessla Tipton-Bartley, the plaintiff, lodged the complaint on October 24, 2024, in the Superior Court of California for the County of Santa Clara against SalonCentric Inc., accusing them of failing to adhere to various wage and hour regulations.
The lawsuit outlines several grievances against SalonCentric Inc., including failure to pay minimum and overtime wages, not providing meal and rest periods as required by law, and not furnishing accurate wage statements. According to Tipton-Bartley, who worked for the company from June 2020 until October 2024 in Santa Clara County, these infractions were part of a broader pattern affecting numerous employees classified as hourly-paid or non-exempt. The complaint alleges that SalonCentric Inc. "willfully failed" to compensate employees properly for all hours worked and manipulated timekeeping records to reflect breaks that were never taken.
Tipton-Bartley claims that she and other similarly situated employees were regularly scheduled to work more than eight hours per day and over forty hours per week without receiving due overtime compensation. Furthermore, the complaint states that employees were often pressured into working through their legally mandated meal and rest periods without additional pay. "Defendants continued to assert control over Plaintiff...by requiring...them to perform work tasks which could not be completed without working in lieu of taking mandatory meal periods," reads one section of the filing.
The lawsuit also accuses SalonCentric Inc. of failing to indemnify employees for necessary business expenses incurred during their employment. Tipton-Bartley argues that this lack of reimbursement further compounded the financial strain on affected workers.
In seeking redress from the court, Tipton-Bartley requests class certification for her case, aiming to represent all similarly affected current and former employees within California. The relief sought includes unpaid wages with interest, statutory penalties for each violation cited under California Labor Code sections such as §§ 204, 1194, 226.7 among others, as well as attorney fees and costs associated with bringing forth this legal action.
Representing Tipton-Bartley is John G. Yslas from Wilshire Law Firm PLC based in Los Angeles. The case is assigned Case No.: 24CV450250 with Judge J. Nguyen overseeing proceedings at the Superior Court of CA in Santa Clara County.