A class action lawsuit has been filed against a California-based company, accusing it of multiple labor law violations that have allegedly deprived employees of their rightful wages and benefits. The complaint was lodged by Jeovaughn Bautista on November 14, 2024, in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, targeting Local Kitchens California, LLC.
The plaintiff, Jeovaughn Bautista, who worked for Local Kitchens from July 2022 to October 2023 as an hourly-paid employee in Santa Clara County, alleges that the company engaged in several unlawful practices. These include failing to pay for all hours worked (including minimum wage and overtime), not providing required meal and rest periods, issuing inaccurate wage statements, and not reimbursing employees for work-related expenses. According to the complaint, these actions violate various sections of the California Labor Code and Business and Professions Code.
Bautista's complaint details how Local Kitchens allegedly manipulated timekeeping records to show false compliance with meal period requirements while actually requiring employees to work through breaks without compensation. The suit claims that this practice resulted in employees working "off-the-clock" without receiving due wages. Furthermore, it accuses the company of failing to provide accurate itemized wage statements as mandated by law, thereby causing financial harm to its workers.
The lawsuit seeks class certification on behalf of all similarly situated current and former employees who were employed by Local Kitchens as hourly or non-exempt workers during the relevant statutory period. The relief sought includes unpaid wages at both regular and overtime rates, statutory penalties for failure to provide timely final wages upon termination, reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses incurred during employment, damages for failure to maintain accurate wage records, and restitution under unfair competition laws.
Representing Bautista is a team from Wilshire Law Firm PLC based in Los Angeles. The case is presided over by Judge M. Arechiga under Case No.: 24CV451770.